Carl Georgeff was born in Perth, Western Australia, on 14 December 1913. His father, Michael, was a farmer, and his mother's name was Anna Kamburova. He attended Perth Boy's School, Perth Modern School and the University of Western Australia, before studying medicine at the University of Melbourne and qualifying in 1938. He was resident medical officer at the Royal Perth Hospital from 1938 to 1940 and noted that Sydney O'Neil was an early influence on him. He served as a captain in the AAMC from 1940 to 1946 and was appointed outpatient surgeon to the Royal Perth Hospital from 1952 to 1960. He was a permanent member of the Raine Research Foundation of the University of Western Australia. In 1940 he married Phyllis O'Brien and they had three daughters, one of whom became a physiotherapist. Since 1962 he had been president of both the West Australian Game Fishing Association and the Nor-West Game Fishing Club. One of his patients, Mary Raine, died a millionairess and Georgeff was instrumental in her leaving the bulk of her fortune to the university. He died on 1 May 2004 in Crawley, Australia.