Shirley Kinsey (née Pooler; born February 7, 1946) is a Los Angeles-based philanthropist, art collector, and former school teacher known, along with husband Bernard and son Khalil, as the owner of Kinsey Collection, one of the largest private collections of African-American history and art in the world.

Shirley was born to Erma and Eddie Pooler on February 7, 1946, in Lake City, Florida.

[3] The couple was married in Tallahassee at the First Baptist Institutional Church, followed by a reception in the faculty lounge at the university.

[1] She later returned to school, graduating in 1976 from Pepperdine University with a master's degree in multi-cultural education.

[7] Their collecting expanded following the birth of their son Khalil as a way of documenting where he came from outside of narratives focused on slavery.