Yvette Mimieux was born in Los Angeles, California to a French father and Mexican mother, Carmen Montemayor. In 1960, she appeared in the teen movie Where the Boys Are as well as George Pal's 1960 film version of H. G. Wells' classic 1895 novel, The Time Machine in 1960, playing the character 'Weena', co-starring Rod Taylor. This was followed by The Light in the Piazza (1962) with Olivia de Havilland. In 1963, Mimieux appeared in Diamond Head and Toys in the Attic.

Many of the films in which she appeared after 1963 were both critical and commercial failures. She appeared in a 1964 episode of Dr. Kildare entitled "Tyger Tyger". She later appeared in numerous television series and made-for-television movies, one of which is The Legend of Valentino (1975), where she played Rudolph Valentino's second wife Natacha Rambova. Of note, Mimieux was originally cast to play the role of Carole in Disney's "The Love Bug" and is shown on the initial prototype poster art, along with a white striped red Herbie.

Mimieux staged a brief comeback in the 1976 film Jackson County Jail, as a falsely imprisoned woman victimized by a sadistic guard and featuring a graphic rape scene. The movie eventually became a minor cult hit which spawned many imitators in the "women in prison" genre.

In later life, Mimieux co-starred in the first PG-rated Walt Disney Productions feature, The Black Hole. In 1984, she starred in Obsessive Love, a television movie about a female stalker, which she co-wrote and co-produced. Her last film, in 1992, was Lady Boss. In one of her few forays into television, Yvette played Department store executive, Shane Bradley, on the short-lived drama, Berrenger's. Her character was romantically linked with the heir to the Berrenger store empire, Paul Berrenger (Ben Murphy).

Aside from her acting career, Mimieux is also an anthropologist and a real estate investor. She was married to film director Stanley Donen from 1972 until their divorce in 1985. In 1986 Mimieux married Howard F. Ruby, Chairman and Founder of Oakwood Worldwide. She has no children.