Bob Hepple was born on 11 August 1934 in Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa. He was married to Mary Coussey and Shirley Goldsmith. He died on 21 August 2015 in the UK.
He was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Legal Studies. He was the former Master at Clare College at the University of Cambridge.