Ward was born in Meridian, Mississippi, to Annie Kate (née Boswell), a housewife, and Granberry Holland "G.H." Ward, Jr., an electrical engineer. Her father is a native of Meridian while her mother was born in Choctaw County, Alabama, before moving to Meridian as a child. Ward is the eldest of four children with a sister, Jenna, and two brothers, Joseph Brock and Granberry Holland Ward III. She graduated from Lamar School in Meridian.
