hopper was born in new york, usa. hopper graduated from vassar college in 1928 and yale university in 1934 with a ph.d degree in mathematics. she joined the us navy during the world war ii in 1943. she worked on computers in the navy for 43 years. she then worked in other private industry companies after 1949. she retired from the navy in 1986 and died on january 1, 1992.