Diane Lynn Warren was born on January 16, 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland, to Joseph and Audrey Warren. Warren graduated from Andover High School in Linthicum, Maryland, in 1969 and was the first member of her family to earn a college degree. Following graduation from Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Maryland with an associate's degree in nursing, went on to Belmont University, earning a bachelor's degree in nursing in 1991.