She is the daughter of Freddy Heineken and Lucille Cummins, an American from a Kentucky family of bourbon whiskey distillers.

Charlene Heineken studied law at the University of Leiden but then married Michel de Carvalho, a stockbroker and Harvard University graduate and former film actor and Olympic skier whom she met skiing in St. Moritz. They reside in London, UK and have five children.

On the death of her father in 2002, she inherited a £3bn, making her the richest woman in the Netherlands. She sits on the board of management of Heineken while her husband is a member of the supervisory board.