Bingham was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to an Italian and African American mother and a Native American father. For college, she went to Harvard Extension School, a fee-based school open to the public and usually staffed by Harvard University professors, to study psychology.

She was married to musician Robb Vallier for 5 years, but they are now divorced. She is now engaged to the investment banker John Yarborough. She is a vegetarian and is rumoured to have had several breast-enhancing and facial surgeries.

Aside from Baywatch, Bingham's appearances include the television series Dream Team and Beverly Hills 90210, and the film Demon Knight. She also played minor roles in the popular American sitcoms The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Married with Children. More recently, she appeared as herself in the second season of the reality series The Surreal Life.

She was most seen recently on Celebrity Big Brother in the United Kingdom, where she made it to the final six contestants and was evicted on the final night of the show. During her time on the show, Bingham was on the receiving end of a much publicized scathing attack from the cross-dressing British singer Pete Burns. Also publicized was speculation over her involvement with fellow housemate and sports legend Dennis Rodman. She selected Families of SMA as the charity to receive a donation from her participation in the show. Traci's niece passed away from SMA, Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

In 2005, Bingham was hired as a spokesmodel by Empire Poker, an online gambling site. For publicity purposes, she was sent to various media events (usually uninvited) wearing a skimpy, low-cut t-shirt with the company's logo on it.