She received a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University in 1972 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

She was in private practice from 1976 to 1979 with the Memphis firm of Farris, Hancock, Gilman, Branan & Lanier.

[1] Gibbons was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 9, 2001, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated by Judge Gilbert S. Merritt Jr. She was confirmed by the Senate on July 29, 2002, by a 95–0 vote.

Gibbons was appointed by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist to chair the Budget Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States in January 2005.

Gibbons wrote a concurring opinion in a 2–1 decision upholding Biden administration COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees and contractors.

In her concurrence, Gibbons highlighted the limited role of the federal judiciary in COVID policy.

[citation needed] In 2003, she discussed her views on women in the judiciary at a University of Virginia School of Law event.