Born on August 7, 1938 in Huntsville, Texas to the parents of Paulie and Thelma Hayward. Barbara Jean Hoffman was the second of ten children. She lived on a small farm in a rural section of Huntsville where she attended elementary school and started secondary school. In 1952 she and her older sister (Gladys) moved to Houston to attend what was considered the premier colored high school in Texas, Phillis Wheatley. In 1959 her parents and the remaining eight children relocated to the Acres Homes area in north Houston, where her mother (94) still resides.

Barbara Hoffman attended Phillis Wheatley Senior High School from 1952 to 1956 where she was first introduced to science. She developed a keen interest for the sciences, particularly chemistry and biology, while at Wheatley. After graduation, she attended Prairie View College where she majored in nursing for two years.  After the two years at Prairie View, she completed her formal training at the University of Texas and was certified as a registered Medical Technologist.  During this time she became a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) where she remained active throughout her professional career.