Yolanda comes from the Courtenay branch of the Capeting Dynasty probably as a second child of Peter Courtenay, the Earl of Auxerre, and Countess Yolanda of Flanders and Hainaut. She was born between 1197‒1199. The good relation with her homeland is also shown by the fact that she has always retained her estates in France even as a Queen of Hungary. Yolanda was sent to Constantinople by her parents, along with her two siblings, somewhere in 1213-1214 as a request of their mother's uncle, Emperor Henry, who was the head of the Latin Empire at that time.
Henrik wanted to strengthen his position and international relations with the help of marriage-alliance policy through her nieces. Certainly Henrik was the initatior of the marriage between Andrew II and Yolanda after the death of Gertrude. Yolanda accompanied by Peter, the Bishop of Győr arrived in Hungary through the Balkans in the middle of 1215 and got married here afterwards. She had no such wide-ranging government powers as before Gertrud and refused to participate in political decision-making.

By her marriage with Andrew II. she had younger Yolanda who was born around 1119-1120. Around 1221, Andras II heap the queen with new donations, giving her the income of the royal estates beyond the river Drava, the counties of Varas, Zala, Somogy and Szerém. There was only a small amount of data remaining from the later period of Yolanda's life. The research believes she was not involved in the competition between King Andrew and his son. In 1232, Queen Yolanda was probably already ill and soon afterwards died in 1233. At her last hours the Cardinal and several high priests were present. In accordance with her provisions she was buried in the Cistercian Virgin Mary Abbey she supported in Egres, in Csanád county.
Yolanda also emerged from the medieval queens, the first preserved queen publication was known from her. The document mentions her name as Yoles, and it is dated in 1224, it is recorded by her chancellor, the chaplain of the Prepost of Veszprém, and the document records the shrine register in favor of St. Michael's Church.