Born Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson in Washington, D.C., she grew up in Arlington, Virginia. Her parents divorced when she was four years old and she was raised by her mother and grandmother, who gave her the affectionate name Tipper, which stuck all through her schooling. She attended St. Agnes (now St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School), a private Episcopalian school in Alexandria, Virginia, where she excelled at athletics and played the drums for an all-girl band, The Wildcats.

She met her future husband, Al Gore, at his high school senior prom (St. Albans School in Washington, D.C.) and they were soon dating. When Gore went north to attend Harvard University, Tipper followed, attending Garland Junior College and later Boston University.

Mrs. Gore received a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Boston University in 1970 and her master's degree in Psychology from George Peabody College, which later merged into Vanderbilt University in 1975. Mrs. Gore worked as a newspaper photographer for the Nashville Tennessean until her husband was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1976.

In 1984, she co-founded the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) because she heard her 12-year-old daughter playing "Darling Nikki" by Prince. Critics of the PMRC, including Jello Biafra and Frank Zappa, have accused the PMRC of conducting public and under-the-table censorship campaigns against various recording artists and have pointed out the PMRC's ties to the American religious right.

In 2000, Tipper Gore began to make public appearances as a "mental health" advocate. She has been criticised by human rights organizations for her ambiguous stance towards involuntary psychiatric treatment, including forced drugging and commitment of people labelled as mentally ill.

In 2002, Tipper was urged by her supporters to run for the vacant U.S. Senate seat her husband once held in Tennessee, which was being vacated by Fred Dalton Thompson. However, Tipper declined the offer, stating it was not the right thing for her at that time.

In 2002, she and Al wrote two books on family values and the transformed American family: Joined at the Heart and Spirit of Family. The Gores also hold an annual conference in Nashville that bring together families and those who work with them to talk and design better ways to strengthen family life in America. At the center of Family Re-Union is the belief that programs and guidelines should respond to the needs of families and communities and should build on their strengths.

Al and Tipper Gore now reside in Nashville, TN. They have four children: Karenna Gore Schiff (August 6, 1973), Kristin (June 5, 1977), Sarah (January 7, 1979) and Albert III (October 19, 1982). They also have two grandchildren (via Karenna), Anna and Wyatt.

Tipper Gore is the subject of the song "Startin' Up a Posse" by Anthrax, found on their 1993 release Attack of the Killer B's. She is mentioned in the songs 'Shelter Me' by Cinderella, 'IfwhiteAmericatoldthetruthforonedayitsworldwouldfallapart' by Manic Street Preachers, 'KKK bitch' by Body Count, 'White America' by Eminem, 'Sucks' by KMFDM, 'Lovely' by Suicidal Tendencies, 'Censorshit' by the Ramones, as well as 'Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock' by Harry and the Potters.