Born in Columbus, Nebraska, Morrow received an Artium Baccalaureus degree cum laude from Bryn Mawr College in 1971.

She received a Juris Doctor cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1974.

She was counsel of record in several precedent-setting cases involving employment law, bad faith, insurance coverage and arbitration.

While an attorney in the Los Angeles office of Arnold & Porter, she specialized in appellate court litigation.

Morrow was nominated to the United States District Court for the Central District of California by President Bill Clinton on January 7, 1997, to a seat vacated by Richard Arthur Gadbois Jr. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 11, 1998, and received her commission on February 24, 1998.