Love was born Darlene Wright on July 26, 1941 in Los Angeles, California to Ellen Maddox and Reverend Joe Wright. Her sister Edna grew up to be the lead singer of the group Honey Cone. She grew up in South Los Angeles, long before the racial tension, crime and violence for which the area later became infamous had taken over the community. Love later remembered the Los Angeles of her childhood as "a city that existed mostly in people's imaginations…. But for us, Los Angeles had nothing to do with movie stars or stubbly, hard-drinking gumshoes trying to piece together broken dreams after hours. For us, Los Angeles was contained in about 20 blocks, bookended on one side by our projects and playgrounds and on the other by church."

She was also part of a trio called Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, who recorded Spector's version of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", an Oscar-winning song from the 1946 Walt Disney film Song of the South, which got into the Top 10 in 1963. The Blossoms landed a weekly part on Shindig!, one of the top music shows of the era. They were part of the highly acclaimed Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special, which aired on NBC.

Love began singing with her local church choir in Hawthorne, California. While still in high school (1957) she was invited to join a little-known girl group called the Blossoms, who in 1962 began working with Producer Phil Spector. With her powerful voice she was soon a highly sought-after vocalist, and managed to work with many of the legends of 1950s and 1960s rock and soul, including Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, Bill Medley, the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones and Sonny and Cher; Darlene and the Blossoms sang backup for Sharon Marie (Esparza) (a Brian Wilson act), as well as John Phillips' solo album John, Wolfking of L.A., recorded in 1969. They also appeared on Johnny Rivers' hits, including "Poor Side of Town" "Baby I Need Your Loving" and "The Tracks of My Tears". (The Blossoms recorded singles, usually with little success, on Capitol 1957-58 [pre-Darlene Love], Challenge 1961-62, OKeh 1963, Reprise 1966-67, Ode 1967, MGM 1968, Bell 1969-70, and Lion 1972.)

With the Blossoms, Love contributed backing vocals behind many of the biggest hits of the 1960s including the Ronettes' "Be My Baby", Shelley Fabares' "Johnny Angel", Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash", Frank Sinatra's version of "That's Life", and the Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron". As a solo Artist, Love also contributed backing vocals to the Ronettes' "Baby, I Love You".

The single "He's a Rebel" was hurriedly released by Spector in November 1962 by having the Blossoms record the track in order to get his version of the Gene Pitney song onto the market before that of Vikki Carr. The single "He's a Rebel" was credited to the Crystals, but actually featured Love singing lead for the first time on a Phil Spector recording. The ghost release of this single came as a total surprise to the Crystals who were an experienced and much traveled girl harmony group in their own right, but they were nevertheless required to perform and promote the new single on television and on tour as if it were their own.

"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is a song recorded by Darlene Love for the 1963 holiday compilation album, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. The song was written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, along with Phil Spector, with the intention of being sung by Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes. According to Love, Ronnie Spector was not able to put as much emotion into the song as needed. Instead, Love was brought into the studio to record the song, which became a big success over time and one of Love's signature tunes.

Into the 1970s Love continued to work as a backup singer, before taking a break in order to raise a family. In 1973, she recorded vocals as a Cheerleader along with Michelle Phillips, for the Cheech & Chong single "Basketball Jones", which peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Love also began an acting career, playing Danny Glover's wife Trish Murtaugh in the four Lethal Weapon movies. Love has held many star roles in various Broadway productions. She acted and sang in Grease, in the short-lived musical adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie, and starred as Motormouth Maybelle in Broadway's Hairspray from August 2005 till April 2008. She later reprised the role in the Hollywood Bowl production of the show in 2011.

In 1986, Love's second chance came when she was asked to sing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on Letterman's Christmas show, this became a yearly tradition.

In 1987, Love sang backup for U2's remake of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". In 1990, Love released the album, Paint Another Picture, which included an update of her old hit, "He's Sure the Man I Love," by Mann and Weill, as well as a ballad written especially for her, "I've Never Been the Same," by Judy Wieder. The album did not make the US charts. In 1990, Cher invited Love and her sister Edna Wright as her background vocalists for the Heart of Stone tour. Love released a minor single in 1992 with "All Alone on Christmas", written and composed by Steven Van Zandt, which can be found on the Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Soundtrack. Love also contributed vocals to the Soundtrack of the film Jingle All the Way.

In 1995 Love won the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award.

She was a special guest on the December 17, 2005, broadcast of Saturday Night Live, singing "White Christmas" with the SNL band and providing the vocals for a Robert Smigel cartoon entitled "Christmastime for the Jews." Love performed with Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band in November 2009 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden.

On December 15, 2010, it was announced that Love had been chosen for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On March 14, 2011, Love was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with a speech by Bette Midler.

Darlene Love alongside Rob Haerburger, Editor and Writer for the New York Times wrote her autobiography "My Name Is Love". In her memoir, Love tells all about her life in the music industry, her years of struggle, and her present projects. It is an inspiring story about a resilient woman who never gave up. "The only rule was that I wanted to be completely honest," says Love. "I've been around a long time, so I have a lot of anecdotes and stories, and the publisher liked that. But I wanted it to be funny, too – even some things that weren't funny at the time."

In August, 2014, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) announced that it is producing a biopic for the big screen based on Love's life, starring singing icon Toni Braxton.

Love's most recent performance came on September 26, 2015, when she provided the inaugural performance to christen the opening of the Clermont Performing Arts Center in Clermont, Florida.

Beginning January 1, 2016, Love is touring her new album across the United States.