Galina Sergeyevna Barinova was born on February 18, 1939 in Moscow. She is a Soviet and Russian animated film director, animator, and artist. She is author to over 20 animated films produced between 1960 and 1990. She is a member of the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA), and has collaborated with artists A. E. Nikolskaya and G. A. Petrova, among others. Barinova has also collaborated with the studio "Christmas Films".

From 1951 to 1956, Barinova studied at the Children's Art School in the Krasnopresnensky District of Moscow; in 1956, she enrolled in animation courses at the Soyuzmultfilm film studio, graduating in 1959, while in 1958, simultaneously enrolling in the Moscow Polygraphic Institute, graduating in 1963.

From 1956 to 1998, Barinova worked at Soyuzmultfilm, using the techniques of drawn animation and cut-out layering animation. As an animator, she was directly involved in the creation of over 40 films. Since 1969, she has been one of the initiators of the creation of the almanac Veselaya Karusel (Merry-Go-Round) and the author of its first issue (director and production designer). Her husband, animator Anatoly Petrov, wrote that the idea for the almanac came specifically from Galina Barinova. In some of her directorial works, she used technical techniques developed by her husband.

Since 2005, she has been an instructor at the Theatre Art and Technical College No. 60.