Chabrier studied physics at the École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS) in Lyon. After completing his PhD he continued his research at the University of Rochester. In the early 1990s he built up a research group at the ENS Lyon in collaboration with the nearby Lyon Observatory. In 1995, the Centre de recherche astronomique de Lyon was founded, known as the Centre de Recherche Astrophysics Lyon (CRAL) since 2007. Chabrier continues to lead one of the research groups at CRAL. He is also a research director at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS).
