Gorani was born in Seattle, Washington, United States to Syrian parents from Aleppo but was mainly raised in Paris, France. She lived also in Algeria. Her name Hala is a common Arabic name which means halo. She earned a Bachelor of Science in economics from George Mason University near Washington, D.C. and graduated from the Institut d'études politiques (better known as Sciences Po) in Paris in 1995.

She began her career as a reporter for La Voix du Nord and Agence France-Presse before joining France 3 in 1994. After a stint at Bloomberg Television in London, she joined CNN in 1998.

Establishing herself as a Middle East specialist, she covered the Hezbollah-Israel war in the summer of 2006 from Lebanon as the main anchor for CNN International, helping the network's coverage of the Middle East win an Edward R. Murrow award for "Excellence in Journalism".

Gorani also reports from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.

In 2002 and in April 2007, she led CNN's coverage of the 2007 French presidential election.

Gorani avoids discussing her political and religious views, citing the need for professional neutrality.

She speaks English, French and Arabic. She currently resides in Atlanta while her family lives in Washington DC.

French novelist Yann Moix dedicated his first novel "Jubilations Vers le Ciel" to Gorani in 1996.