Hvorostovsky was born in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia.
He studied at the Krasnoyarsk School of Arts under Yekatherina Yofel and made his debut at Krasnoyarsk Opera House, in the role of Marullo in Rigoletto.
He went on to win First Prize at both the Russian Glinka Competition in 1987 and the Toulouse Singing Competition in 1988.