Beigbeder was born into a privileged family in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. His mother, Christine de Chasteigner, is a translator of mawkish novels (Barbara Cartland et al.); his father, Jean-Michel Beigbeder, is a headhunter. He studied at the Lycée Montaigne and Louis-le-Grand, and later at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. Upon graduation at the at the age of 24, began work as an advertising executive, author, broadcaster, publisher, and dilettante. In 1994, Beigbeder founded the "Prix de Flore", which takes its name from the famous and plush Café de Flore in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The prize is awarded annually to a promising young French author. Vincent Ravalec, Jacques A. Bertrand, Michel Houellebecq are among those who have won the prize. In 2004, the tenth anniversary of the prize, it was awarded to the only American to ever receive it, Bruce Benderson. Two of Beigbeder's novels, 99 Francs (Jan Kounen, 2007) and L'amour dure trois ans (Beigbeder, 2011), have been adapted for the cinema. In 2002, he presented the TV talk show "Hypershow" on French channel Canal+, co-presented with Jonathan Lambert, Sabine Crossen and Henda. That year he also advised French Communist Party candidate Robert Hue in the presidential election. He worked for a few years as a publisher for Flammarion. He left Flammarion in 2006. In May 2007 he spent time in the United States to shoot a film about the reclusive American author, J.D. Salinger.