Born October 1, 1962 in Whittier, California, Paul Kostabi grew up surrounded by art. He and his brother, the famous artist Mark Kostabi, showed a passion for both the visual and musical arts early in life. Though mostly recognized for his fierce, expressionistic self-portraits, Kostabi also has a remarkable body of landscapes, still lifes, abstract works and a number of risible appropriations of different modern artists including Julian Schnabel, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Giles Lyon. His paintings can be seen in the permanent collections of the Paterson Museum of New Jersey, The Guggenheim, and the New England Museum of Art.

Kostabi is also known for his musical talents; he is a founding member of the bands Youth Gone Mad, Psychotica, and the Grammy-nominated band White Zombie.