Charlotte was born in Sunderland in 1990 and educated at St Anthony’s Girls’ School where she completed A levels. Originally considering studying criminology at university, she successfully auditioned and was cast to appear in the Tyne and Wear based reality TV show, Geordie Shore.

Charlotte was an original cast member of MTV's reality show Geordie Shore, which she had starred in since 2011. She featured in twelve series of the show. She became known for an on/off relationship with fellow cast member Gaz Beadle. She announced her departure from the show via Twitter in June 2016.

In November 2012, alongside her Geordie Shore cast members, Crosby guest appeared in the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards where they presented the award for Best Male, which Justin Bieber won. In February 2013, Crosby appeared on The Sarah Millican Television Programme alongside her Geordie Shore cast members Gary Beadle, James Tindale and Holly Hagan.

In 2013, Charlotte hosted the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards. Crosby is a regular panellist on This Morning, panel for the fashion strand 'Rate or Slate' and also has regularly appeared on the panel for ITV Shows, Britain's Got More Talent, Xtra Factor and Celebrity Juice. In January 2014, it was confirmed that Crosby would have her own reality series on TLC where she will spend time in different extreme cultures and to live with some of the world's unique communities. "I am bursting with excitement about my new show with TLC. I literally want to run around shouting about it from the rooftops!" The series is called The Charlotte Crosby Experience.

In mid 2014, Crosby launched her fashion line called Nostalgia, in association with British online fashion retailer 'In The Style'. Nostalgia contains women's clothing such as T-shirts, dresses, jumpsuits and playsuits. In early 2016, Crosby expanded by launching her first swimwear collection for Nostalgia. She undertook a photoshoot in Australia, where she also filmed the online and TV advertisement.

From December 2015 to April 2016, Crosby and Gaz Beadle started a relationship outside of filming Geordie Shore. This came to an end following Crosby's ectopic pregnancy. Crosby had life-saving surgery at St John and Elizabeth hospital in London which involved the removal of her left Fallopian tube. At this same time, Beadle had been unfaithful to her in Thailand whilst filming Ex on the Beach, leading to the end in their relationship.

In April 2016, Crosby publish her first health and fitness book and her second overall book to date, Live Fast, Lose Weight: Fat to Fit. The book features Charlotte's tips and tricks on keeping fit and 80 recipes for a healthy lifestyle.

Crosby publicly announced that she is in a relationship with fellow reality television personality, Stephen Bear, in February 2017. They split in October 2017 after a highly publicised relationship.

In January 2018, Crosby published her second health and fitness book entitled 30 Day Blitz. She promoted the book with a series of signings throughout the UK.