Hinton was born in
Ann Arbor, Michigan to her parents, Ann Pearlman, a
psychotherapist and writer, and Alfred Hinton, a retired art professor at the
University of Michigan. She grew up in Ann Arbor but spent time in
Saginaw, an hour north of the city. Her paternal grandfather was recruited by
General Motors to leave the south for the north to work in a factory. As Saginaw declined, Hinton recalled the impact that
drugs and unemployment had on her cousins who were often in and out of prison. That experience went on to influence her academic career. She received her B.A. in
Historical Sociology from
New York University's Gallatin School in 2005. Hinton completed a Ph.D. in United States History at
Columbia University in 2013. Hinton divorced her first husband in 2017. She is remarried and lives in New Haven with her current husband and their two children. == Career ==