Brené Brown was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1965. She is married to Steve Alley, a pediatrician, and they have two children, Ellen and Charlie. Brown is a researcher that focuses on shame and vulnerability, and she is the Huffington Foundation's Brené Brown Endowed Chair at the University of Houston's Graduate College of Social Work. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Social Work degree, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in social work from the University of Houston.

Brown’s research methodology is a grounded theory which combines data with storytelling. Anecdotes about her life and her family are common in Daring Greatly, and she uses her own experiences to narrate how shame and fear shape our lives and how we can take back control of our lives. For example, Brown started smoking and drinking in high school but gave up both habits after she finished her masters research. She describes how social anxiety made her a smoker because she wanted something to do with her hands. When she tackled the root causes, she no longer needed smoking to numb her nerves.