Kote Marjanishvili was born on June 9, 1872 in Kvareli. From 1894, he performed with Tbilisi and Kutaisi theatres. From 1897, he worked with Elisavetgrad, Kerch, Baku, Tambov and Tashkent theatres. In 1901, he directed Chekhov’s play Uncle Vania. In 1904–1905, he worked at Konstantin Nezlobin’s Theatre in Riga and in 1908–1909, he worked in Odessa. From 1909 onward, he was a senior stage director at Nezlobin’s as well as other theatres in Moscow. In 1916, he made a film Omnipotent Love, in Russia. In 1919, he became a commissar of Kiev’s theatres. In 1922, he returned to Georgia to work. In 1924, he made a film “Qarishkhlis tsin” (Before the Hurricane) a copy of which did not survive. He brought up a generation of Georgian actors. From 1931 onward he continued his work in Moscow.

Kote Marjanishvili died on April 17, 1933 in Moscow.