Carole Ann Loop was born on December 25, 1940, in Pasadena, California to Clement “Lee” and Edna Loop. She was raised in the town of Arcadia, California. Her father, Lee Loop, was a tennis professional at Santa Anita Park. He taught his daughter how to play tennis at age 12, and she won several junior championships in Southern California. She graduated from Pacific High School in 1958 and majored in history at Los Angeles State College (LASC).

While attending LASC, she was on the school’s varsity tennis team and won several tournaments while playing with or against future tennis stars Billie Jean King and Carole Graebner. In 1962, she was ranked seventh in the Southern California Women's Division, 18th nationally and sixth nationally in doubles. After graduating from LASC, she competed at Wimbledon in 1962 and 1966.

In 1967, Carole married Philip F. Herrick, Jr. and the couple moved to the Washington Metropolitan region and settled down in McLean in 1972. She became assistant pro at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, and continued to play and teach tennis. Herrick also competed in track events and completed the Boston Marathon in 1979. In 2012, she was inducted into the Intercollegiate Woman’s Tennis Hall of Fame.

She twice unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat against Republican Vincent F. Callahan, Jr. for the 34th District House of Delegates in 1997 and 1999. Herrick also ran for Dranesville District Supervisor in 1991 but lost to Republican Ernest J. Berger.

Herrick has been a community activist serving as president of the McLean Historical Society, and involved with the McLean Community Center Governing Board, Friends of the McLean Community Center, McLean & Great Falls Celebrate Virginia, Dranesville District Democratic Women's Club, and McLean Citizens Association.

She has written several books on the history of the Northern Virginia region and is a widely respected expert on McLean’s history. In 2018, the Great Falls Historical Society awarded her with their Jean Tibbetts History Award. She was also a member of the Fairfax County History Commission for 17 years and was its chair from 2015-2017. She received the commission’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.