Perel is Jewish, the daughter of two Polish-born Holocaust survivors.
She was raised in Antwerp, Belgium and attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel.
She grew up amongst Holocaust survivors in Antwerp, and noted two groups around her: "those who didn't die, and those who came back to life".
She observed that "those who didn't die were people who lived tethered to the ground, afraid, untrusting.
The world was dangerous, and pleasure was not an option.
You cannot play, take risks, or be creative when you don't have a minimum of safety, because you need a level of unself-consciousness to be able to experience excitement and pleasure.
Those who came back to life were those who understood eroticism as an antidote to death."

Perel subsequently trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy before finding a professional home in family systems theory.
She initially worked as a cross-cultural psychotherapist with couples and families.
For 13 years she was a clinical instructor at the New York University School of Medicine.

Perel has also worked as an actress (appearing in the 2017 film, Newness, as herself) and run a clothing boutique in Antwerp.

Perel is married to Jack Saul, Assistant Professor of Clinical Population and Family Health at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, with whom she has two sons.
Perel is Jewish, the daughter of two Polish-born Holocaust survivors. She was raised in Antwerp, Belgium and attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. She grew up amongst Holocaust survivors in Antwerp, and noted two groups around her: "those who didn't die, and those who came back to life". She observed that "those who didn't die were people who lived tethered to the ground, afraid, untrusting. The world was dangerous, and pleasure was not an option. You cannot play, take risks, or be creative when you don't have a minimum of safety, because you need a level of unself-consciousness to be able to experience excitement and pleasure. Those who came back to life were those who understood eroticism as an antidote to death."
Perel subsequently trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy before finding a professional home in family systems theory. She initially worked as a cross-cultural psychotherapist with couples and families. For 13 years she was a clinical instructor at the New York University School of Medicine. 
Perel has also worked as an actress (appearing in the 2017 film, Newness, as herself) and run a clothing boutique in Antwerp.
Perel is married to Jack Saul, Assistant Professor of Clinical Population and Family Health at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, with whom she has two sons.
Esther Perel