She grew up in Hollywood, and lived with her family in London, where her father was posted in 1959, and attended Marymount International School.

After returning to Los Angeles, she met producer Kim Fowley, and recorded a spoken word single with him as "Bunny and Bear".

[6] She met Vito Paulekas and Carl Franzoni, the leaders of what became known as the "freak scene" in Los Angeles, and by her own account became something of a groupie.

[7] She met her future husband Frank Zappa in 1966 when she was working as a secretary at the Whisky a Go Go nightclub on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.

[8] "It's complicated enough to be grieving the loss of a mean mom", Moon Zappa told the Los Angeles Times in 2016, "and then to find out she was meaner than I could have possibly comprehended ...

Frank Zappa also named Barking Pumpkin Records after his wife's chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or smoker's cough.

In 2002, Gail founded the Zappa Family Trust,[3] intended to oversee the release of his recordings, including multiple previously unavailable works.

[8] Described as "a strong-willed and savvy business woman", Gail Zappa "frequently squared off against the music industry's major players ...".

"[1] In 2008, the Zappa Family Trust sued the organizers of the Zappanale Festival, held outside Bad Doberan, Germany, demanding they change the name of the festival, remove their promotional posters (which contained an allegedly trademarked moustache similar to Frank Zappa's) and remove the bust of him that has stood in the city center since 2002.

In January 2009, the court found in Zappanale's favor after their defense argued that as the Zappa Family Trust only sells products on the Internet and accepts only U.S. dollars, it had not effectively exercised its trademarks in Germany for more than five years.