Nancy Grace was born in Macon, Georgia, the youngest of three children, to factory worker Elizabeth Grace and Mac Grace, a freight agent for Southern Railway. Her older siblings are brother Mac Jr. and sister Ginny. The Graces are longtime members of Macon's Liberty United Methodist Church, where Elizabeth plays the organ and Mac Sr. was once a Sunday School teacher. Grace graduated from Macon's Windsor Academy in 1977.

Sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live has parodied Grace, both in and out of the context of her show, a number of times since her rise to prominence. Originally Grace was portrayed by SNL cast member Amy Poehler. Her impression featured in a parody of the Nancy Grace show during Saturday Night Live's 32nd season (In episode 7.). The sketch parodied Grace's reactions to Michael Richards infamous appearance at the laugh factory, the O.J. Simpson trial and her own parking fines. During the sketch, host Matthew Fox portrays a parking attendant whom Grace's staff have brought off the street, where he was giving Grace a parking ticket. Poehler also voiced Grace, on May 21, 2005, as part of the show's Saturday TV Funhouse segment in a Divertor sketch. During this appearance, Grace says little more than "[Name of celebrity in question] should fry."  Grace would later be impersonated by Saturday Night Live cast member Abby Elliott in the sketch 'So You've Committed A Crime... And You Think You Can Dance?', in which Grace features as a judge of the dance contest. In the sketch, Grace calls the show 'Disgusting'.  Most recently, Grace was portrayed by featured player Noel Wells in Season 39, Episode 11. The sketch parodies Grace's reaction to the legalisation of Marijuana in Colorado and features host/musical guest Drake doing an impression of comedian Katt Williams. Much of Grace's dialogue from the sketch was lifted directly from an interview she conducted on January 6, 2013, with Brooke Baldwin  on CNN's News Room, in particular the phrase 'I've got a sneaking suspicion that you are pro-pot. And I don't like it.'

Was she afraid of getting made fun of by them?