Stokes is the son of rugby league player and coach Gerard Stokes, and has English and Māori ancestry. He moved to England at the age of 12 after his father was appointed head coach of Workington Town rugby league club, and grew up in the small West Cumbrian town of Cockermouth, attending Cockermouth School and playing cricket for Cockermouth Cricket Club. He won the North Lancashire & Cumbria Cricket League Premier Division Title with the club as a 15-year-old in 2006. As of 2013 his parents have moved back to New Zealand and again reside in Christchurch, along with Ben’s brothers.

Stokes made his one-day debut for Durham in 2009 at The Oval and managed to take the wicket of the highly experienced batsman Mark Ramprakash with only his third delivery in professional cricket. He played in two youth tests against Bangladesh U19 during 2009, in which he made a half-century and took a few wickets. He then went on to play in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup, during which he scored a century against the India U19 team.

Stokes made his senior England debut in a One Day International (ODI) against Ireland in August 2011. Stokes was caught and bowled by Paul Stirling for just three runs and did not bowl; however, he did take a catch.

Stokes continued in the limited overs side for the ODI series against India in 2011. In the first two games of the series Stokes did not bat or bowl. An injury to Stokes meant that he was not able to bowl in the series, and so was picked as a batsman only. In the third match Stokes hit 20 as England won the match by 3 wickets. In the fourth match of the series, Stokes only managed 7 runs as the match ended on a draw on the Duckworth–Lewis method. He was selected to make his Twenty20 International debut against the West Indies. In the second match he batted at number three, scoring 31 runs although England lost by 25 runs. He played in two T20 matches against New Zealand, although injury again meant he could not bowl. He scored 9 not out in the first game, although England narrowly lost. He did not bat in the second rain-affected match.

Stokes did not play for England in 2012 due to a combination of injuries, lack of form and disciplinary issues. He was sent home from an England Lions tour after he ignored a team curfew.

Stokes became engaged to Clare Ratcliffe in 2013. They have two children. They married in East Brent, Somerset in October 2017.

Stokes was selected for the tour of Sri Lanka late in 2014, although he endured a disappointing series. In the first match of the series he took figures of 1–36 and scored 16 runs. After being left out for the second match of the series he returned for the third, although he was unimpressive, finishing with figures of 0–28. He played in the fourth ODI, but ended with figures of 0–21 off just two overs, and played no further part in the series.

On 2 January 2015, Stokes joined the Melbourne Renegades of Australia’s Big Bash League for the remainder of the season as a replacement for Jesse Ryder, who was ruled out through injury.

In the first Test against India, Stokes made 128 in England’s first innings to help them reach 537. He took one wicket in India’s first innings, before making an unbeaten 29. The match ended in a draw. In the second Test he finished with figures of 1–73 in India’s first innings, before making 70 with the bat. He was out for six in England’s second innings as they lost by 246 runs. In the third Test he made 29 in England’s first innings, and then took 5–73 in India’s first innings. After making five in the second innings, Stokes failed to pick up another wicket as England suffered another defeat. In the fourth Test he made 31 in England’s first innings score of 400, but failed to pick up a wicket or make an impression in England’s second innings as they lost by an innings and 36 runs. In the final match of the series, Stokes picked up just one wicket and scored 29 runs in the match as England lost by an innings and 75 runs. For his performances in 2016, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC and Cricinfo. He was also named in the ODI XI of the year 2016 by Cricinfo.

On 13 February 2017, Stokes was appointed vice-captain of England’s test team, deputising under Joe Root, who was made captain the same day.

On 20 February 2017, Stokes was bought by the Rising Pune Supergiants in the IPL for Rs 14.5cr (£1.7m). He made his maiden T20 hundred against Gujarat Lions, getting 103* in 63 balls with 7 fours and 6 sixes. He was awarded the “Man of The Match” trophy a record three times in 14 games before he left for national duty. For his performances in the 2017 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.

Following the third ODI against West Indies at Bristol in September 2017, Stokes was arrested after becoming involved in a street brawl near a nightclub with two men, at which teammate Alex Hales was also present. This incident led to both players missing the fourth game of the series, and a hand injury sustained in the brawl also ruled Stokes out of the final game. He also missed the 2017–18 Ashes and the second Test match against India due to the incident and the subsequent trial. He lost his apparel sponsorship with New Balance over these incidents.

On 27 January 2018, he was bought by Rajasthan Royals for ₹12.5 crores (£1.7m); he was the most expensive player in the 2018 IPL auction. On 25th October 2020, he made his first century for Rajasthan Royals by hitting 107* in 60 balls against Mumbai Indians with 14 fours and 3 sixes and chased the target of 196 with Sanju Samson for an unbeaten 152 run partnership for the 3rd wicket.

Stokes was charged on 15 January 2018 with affray along with the two other men, and appeared before Bristol Magistrates’ Court on 13 February 2018. During the trial, which started on 6 August 2018, Stokes said he was defending a gay couple from homophobic abuse from the other two men, but was accused by the prosecuting lawyer of lying and that he himself had flicked a cigarette at the gay couple and mocked them. He was acquitted on 14 August. The couple thanked Stokes afterwards for defending them, saying that he “didn’t deserve being put through a trial”.

In September 2018, Stokes was charged with bringing the game into disrepute by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over the incident in Bristol and social media posts. Stokes pleaded guilty to the charges, and in December 2018 was fined £30,000 and banned for eight matches, all of which he had already served by that time.

In April 2019, Stokes was named in England’s squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

On 29 May 2020, Stokes was named in a 55-man group of players to begin training ahead of international fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic. On 17 June 2020, Stokes was included in England’s 30-man squad to start training behind closed doors for the Test series against the West Indies. Stokes was named as captain for one of the teams in the official inter-squad warm-up match. In the absence of regular captain Joe Root(due to the birth of his child), it was announced that as vice-captain, Stokes would therefore captain England for the first time. Prior to being named captain, Stokes had never led a side in a first-class, List A or Twenty20 cricket match. In the first Test, Stokes took his 150th wicket, to become the sixth cricketer to score 4,000 runs and take 150 wickets in Tests. In the first innings of the second Test, Stokes scored 176 runs, to record his tenth century in Test cricket.