Gabrielle Chana has a B.S. degree in Health Education from Florida State University, where she graduated with honors in 1979. She has a second bachelor's degree from a private Baptist university (Baptist University of America) where she studied missions and education. Her maiden name Chord, is the same as Cord from The Carpetbaggers, a movie about her great uncle Howard Hughes. Her father, a retired airline captain, is a pilot like his uncle. Her mother, a beauty pageant winner, worked as a model. She studied writing under award-winning children's author Jim Murphy through The Institute of Children's Literature. After this, she furthered her writing skills through self-study.