Parker was born Mattie Jean Pearcy[7] in Hico, Texas, about 80 miles southwest of Fort Worth.[8] She graduated from Hico High School in 2002 before heading to the University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in government.[8] In 2012, Parker graduated from the Texas Wesleyan School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree and, in 2013, was admitted to the State Bar of Texas.[7] Parker was in Texas Wesleyan's final graduating class before the law school was sold and became the Texas A&M University School of Law in 2013.[8][9]