Trippier was born in Bury, Greater Manchester, to Chris Trippier and Eleanor Lomax. He has three brothers, Chris, Curtis and Kelvin. He grew up in Summerseat in Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester and attended Holcombe Brook Primary School until 2002, followed by Woodhey High School where he studied for five years and finished in 2007. He played in the school football team and helped them win the Bury Cup twice and Greater Manchester Trophy once. His family are Manchester United fans, and although he was scouted by United when he was eight, he chose to join Manchester City’s academy as he knew a few friends there and it was local for him.

Trippier joined Manchester City’s academy at the age of nine, where he progressed through the ranks at the club, signing his first professional contract in 2007. In the 2007–08 season he became a regular in the reserve team and was part of the team that won the FA Youth Cup. In August 2009, he featured in the prestige friendly against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou. He joined the first-team for the pre-season tour of the United States in the summer of 2010.

Trippier was first called up by England at under-18 level in November 2007 for an international friendly against Ghana at the Priestfield Stadium, Gillingham. He made his debut in the 2–0 victory, coming on as a late substitute for Seth Nana Twumasi.

He then progressed to the under-19 squad in November 2008 for the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification match against Albania, making his debut in the 3–0 win in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. He was a mainstay in the team as the squad qualified for the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals in Ukraine, and was named in the squad for the finals of the tournament. He featured heavily in the tournament as England reached the final but were beaten 2–0 by the hosts Ukraine.

In February 2010, he joined Championship club Barnsley on a one-month loan. He went on to make three appearances during the loan spell, making his debut in a 2–1 defeat at Middlesbrough. His loan was cut short after he suffered an injury at Scunthorpe United which kept him out for ten days. In August 2010, he re-joined Barnsley for his second spell with the club on a six-month loan deal. He made his second debut for the club in the 1–0 home defeat to Rochdale in the League Cup. In January 2011, Trippier agreed a deal to stay at Barnsley for the remainder of the 2010–11 season. He scored his first senior goal for Barnsley in a 3–3 draw with Leeds United, with a curling free-kick from 25 yards out at Elland Road in February 2011. His second goal came against local rivals Doncaster Rovers with another spectacular free-kick, equalising late on for the hosts at Oakwell. He went on to make forty-one appearances in all competitions, winning the Young Player of the Year award.

After reaching the final, England qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt a month later and Trippier was named in the 21-man squad. He featured in all three games as England were eliminated finishing bottom of the group with defeats to Uruguay and Ghana, and the 1–1 draw with Uzbekistan. In October 2010, he received his first call-up to the under-21 squad for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-off against Romania, however he failed to feature. He made his debut a month later in the international friendly with Germany, a 2–0 defeat. His final appearance for the under-21s came in an international friendly against Italy in February 2011 at the Stadio Carlo Castellani in Empoli. He came on as a second-half substitute for Josh McEachran in a 1–0 defeat.

In July 2011, Trippier joined Championship club Burnley on a season-long loan as a replacement for the departing Tyrone Mears. He made his debut for the Clarets in August 2011, a 2–2 home draw with Watford. His first goal for the club came in September 2011, with a superb long-range free-kick against Milton Keynes Dons in a 2–1 win in the League Cup. His first league goal came in December 2011, a 1–0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at the Falmer Stadium, with a powerful shot from the edge of the box. In December 2011, after impressing during his loan, Trippier was nominated for the Championship Player of the Month award. On 2 January 2012, he received his first professional red card for picking up two bookings in a 2–1 defeat to Leeds United. A day later, Burnley signed Trippier on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. In January 2012 he scored his second goal for the club, scoring from range in a 2–0 win away to Middlesbrough. In March 2012, he scored the first in a 5–1 rout against Portsmouth at Fratton Park. He played in all 46 league games in his first season as the club finished in mid-table, going on to win the Burnley Player of the Year award.

Trippier again went on to impress in his second season with the club being a virtual ever-present as he was named in the Championship PFA Team of the Year for 2012–13. In August 2013, he scored a free-kick in a 2–0 win over Preston North End in the League Cup. In January 2014, he sealed a 3–2 win over Huddersfield Town with a late goal. He was again named in the Championship PFA Team of the Year for consecutive seasons as Burnley finished runners-up and gained promotion to the Premier League. In May 2014, he signed a new improved three-year contract until 2017 after reported interest from Arsenal.

On 19 June 2015, Trippier signed for Premier League club Tottenham for a reported £3.5 million, after successfully passing a medical, becoming the club’s second signing of the summer. Trippier was expected to compete with Kyle Walker at right-back under manager Mauricio Pochettino, Trippier did not make a start for Tottenham before Christmas as he was eased into the team. On 6 February 2016, he scored his first goal for Tottenham, netting a cross from Dele Alli, which turned out to be the winning goal in a 1–0 win over Watford. Trippier appeared in six games for Tottenham during the Premier League season, making five starts as Walker displayed his best form in recent years. However, Trippier played in every minute of Tottenham’s Europa League campaign that reached the last 16.

Despite rumours of a move to Southampton, Trippier confirmed he was “really happy at the club” and that he was “not thinking of leaving”. Trippier made his Champions League debut in a Group stage match at CSKA Moscow on 27 September 2016. He performed well in the right-back position as replacement for Kyle Walker who was injured during the 2016–17 season, and earned his first call-up for the England national squad.

Trippier has a brother, Kelvin Lomax, who also played professional football but used his mother’s surname in his professional career. In June 2016, Trippier married his wife Charlotte in Cyprus and their child, Jacob, was born in December 2016.

On 30 June 2017, Trippier agreed a new five-year contract, committing to the club until 2022. As Walker had moved to Manchester City in the summer, Trippier became a regular in the starting line-up of the Spurs team early in the 2017–18 season, although he missed the opening game of the season due to an injury sustained in a pre-season friendly against Juventus that Spurs won 2–1. However, a new signing for Tottenham this season, Serge Aurier, in September meant that he and Aurier regularly rotated in the right-back position. He impressed with his performances in the season, in particular during the UEFA Champions League home match against Real Madrid on 1 November 2017, which Spurs won 3–1.

Trippier was called up to the senior team for the first time in May 2017 for the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Scotland and the friendly match against France, making his debut against the latter on 13 June in a 3–2 defeat.

He was named in the 23-man England national team squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 11 July 2018, Trippier scored his first England goal, opening the scoring with a free-kick in a 2–1 extra-time loss to Croatia in Moscow. He was injured in extra time with all substitutions played, so England played the final ten minutes with ten men. He was widely praised as one of the best performers for the England team at the World Cup, particularly for his crosses and dead-ball delivery on set pieces, prompting comparison with David Beckham. He was ranked the most creative player of the tournament, having created 24 chances in all games played.

Trippier signed for La Liga club Atlético Madrid on 17 July 2019 on a three-year contract, for a fee of £20 million plus add-ons. He became Atlético’s first English player in 95 years. In his debut on 18 August in their opening La Liga match against Getafe, he helped the team to a 1–0 home win by providing an assist for Álvaro Morata’s goal.