Dawn Snelling Gibbons was born in Atlanta, Georgia and moved to Nevada at the age of 20.
During this period, she met her future husband, Jim Gibbons, then a Delta Air Lines pilot.
In 1991, Dawn Gibbons was appointed to represent part of Washoe County in the Nevada Assembly, filling a vacancy created when her husband resigned his seat in order to serve in the Persian Gulf War.
During the 2006 election season, she ran in the Republican Party primary to succeed her husband as Representative from Nevada's 2nd congressional district.
On May 2, 2008, Jim Gibbons filed for divorce on grounds of incompatibility, citing an undisclosed incident in Reno and asked the court to determine whether he or his wife would live at the Nevada Governor's Mansion in Carson City.
She also cited the attempted sexual assault that Jim Gibbons was alleged to have committed against a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas.