Ms. Outlaw was born in 1959 and raised in Mobile, Alabama. She received a B.A. with High Distinction in French from the University of Virginia in 1981. In 1981 and 1982 she studied French pastry and cuisine at La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. She was enrolled in the General Studies Program at The International Center of Photography in New York City in 1987 and 1988.