Christine grew up on her family's farm, Pontefract, in Oldwick, New Jersey. On the farm, Christine grew up riding horses and fishing. She has three older siblings including her brothers, Webster and Danny. Her parents were politically active, taking Christine to her first political convention in 1956 for the renomination of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Her mother's political activity caused a newspaper to speculate that she could be a viable candidate for governor, although Eleanor never chose to run for office. As a child she attended Far Hills Country Day School before being sent to boarding school at Foxcroft in Virginia. Christine disliked being so far away from home and after a year transferred to the Chapin School in Manhattan, allowing her to return home on the weekends. After graduating from Wheaton College in 1968, earning a bachelor of arts degree in government, she worked for Nelson Rockefeller's presidential campaign.