He grew up on his grandparents' farm in Bornstedt until 1954, when his family moved to Braunschweig, where his father had been hired as chief-editor of cultural magazine Westermanns Monatshefte.

[1] During the GDR period, Ulla Ebert, the sister of Joop's mother, lived in the property and was financially supported for its preservation by the family from the West.

[1] Joop began his career in 1970, when he took part to a competition by German women's magazine Constanze [de] with his then-wife Karin Benatzky[4] and they were awarded all three first prizes.

[5] This success landed him a job as fashion editor at the Hamburg-based women's magazine Neue Mode in 1970,[4] from which he resigned in 1971 to continue working independently, including as a freelance journalist and designer.

Two years later, with the launch of his first perfume collection, he made his name a trademark, with capital letters to symbolise energy along with an exclamation mark.

In January 2011, it was reported that Wunderkind faced restructuring, with the dismissal of almost all its staff, and its March Paris Fashion Week show was cancelled.

[8] That same year, Joop designed the bridal gown worn by Princess Sophie of Isenburg for her marriage to Prince Georg of Prussia in August.

[10] A new general manager was put in place and there are plans to open another store in Berlin and for steady but slower growth.

[14] In September 2011, the collection "GALERIA 1879 by Wolfgang Joop", named after the founding year of the chain, was made available for sale in all Kaufhof stores.

Aus einem Leben mit mir (2013) was written in collaboration with journalist and author Rebecca Casati.

[20] Joop supports the organisation Dunkelziffer e. V. for sexually abused children[21] as well as the Hamburg Leuchtfeuer for people with AIDS.

[26] In 2001, Joop caused controversy with a statement regarding the September 11 attacks, saying: "I do not regret that the symbol of the Twin Towers is not standing anymore, because they represented capitalist arrogance.