Boone was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the daughter of singer and 1950s icon Pat Boone. She later added to her musical relations by marrying Gabriel Ferrer, brother of actor Miguel Ferrer and son of Rosemary Clooney and Jos Ferrer. She is also the mother of actress Gabi Ferrer.

Debby Boone is best known for her 1977 cover of the movie theme of "You Light Up My Life," which sold 4 million copies and spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the charts. (Boone's version, contrary to what many believe today, was not the one used in the movie; the song was lip-synced in the film by Didi Conn, performing to vocals recorded by Kacey Cisyk.)

When asked who "lit up her life," Boone said she was singing about God, but the popularity of her first hit grew to be an annoyance. "Nobody would let me do anything else," she says. "It got a little frustrating. On TV, they would let me sing another song if I sang that one. It was never even my favorite song to begin with."

Boone also reached No. 1 on the country charts a few years later with "Are You on the Road to Lovin' Me Again". She was a major presence on the Christian-music scene in the 1980s, winning two Dove Awards to add to her three Grammys.

During the 1980s, Debby and Pat Boone made headlines when ordered to pay out refunds and a fine for their part in a television infomercial for a mail order acne treatment. The FDA found that the costly product worked no better than soap and water.

Theater kept Boone busy in the 1990s. She earned solid reviews in the touring companies of The King and I, The Sound of Music and Grease and did Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on Broadway.

Boone has recorded songs for children and written several children's books with illustrations by Gabriel Ferrer. The mother of four once told an interviewer, "I would be happy at a piano bar, singing. I just want to hone in on being the best singer I can be."

In 2005 Boone released a new album on the Concord label, Reflections of Rosemary. The CD is a tribute to her late mother-in-law.