The author was born “Gloria Jean Watkins” but uses the name “bell hooks” as her pen name. Bell Blair Hooks was her maternal great-grandmother, and hooks uses her name to honor her matriarchal legacy, but she chooses a lower-case spelling of the name to steer the focus away from herself and toward the issues she writes about. She has spent most of her life teaching and writing about the ways that gender, race, and class intersect in systematic ways, focusing often on the experiences and perceptions of black women. Her work on teaching is meant to dismantle oppressive systems to create a space dedicated to the reflection on, and practice of, freedom.

In 2014, she established the bell hooks Institute at Berea College in Kentucky. Now known as the bell hooks center, the inclusive space allows "historically underrepresented students [to] come to be as they are, outside of the social scripts that circumscribe their living" ("The Bell Hooks Center"). She taught at the University of California (Santa Cruz), Yale University, Oberlin College, and the City College of New York. She has written over 30 books, including books of poetry and children’s book. Her most recent book is All About Love: New Visions (2018), which redefines the sacredness of love in our society.