Nathan Bracken was born in Penrith, New South Wales to parents Gordon and Robin. He spent his childhood living in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, attending Faulconbridge Primary and Springwood High School. He currently resides on the Central Coast of New South Wales and is married to Haley Bracken with whom he has 2 children named Chase and Tag. He is also studying for an undergraduate degree in communications. Bracken contested the Australian House of Representatives seat of Dobell as an independent against sitting member Craig Thomson at the 2013 federal election and received an 8.2 percent primary vote. He ran again in 2017 as an independent for a seat on the Central Coast Council, finishing with 3.6% of the vote.

First-class cricket

After a stint at the Australian Cricket Academy in 1997, Bracken made his first-class debut for New South Wales against Queensland on 27 October 1998 at Manuka Oval, Canberra. New South Wales were beaten by an innings and Bracken finished with figures of 0/86 off 41 overs. He played 5 more first-class matches in the 1998–99 season and finished with 11 wickets at a respectable average of 30.36. The 1999–00 season saw Bracken only play one match, however the 2000–01 season was one of great success for Bracken. He finished the season as New South Wales second leading wicket-taker behind Stuart MacGill with 29 wickets at 23.72. As a result of his outstanding season he was rewarded with a place in the Australian squad for the 2001 Ashes tour, a Cricket Australia contract and won the 2001 Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award.

After recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained on the 2001 Ashes tour, Bracken played 8 matches for New South Wales in the 2001–02 season. He had a successful season once again, claiming 24 wickets at 31.79 and finishing behind Stuart Clark as the second leading wicket taker for New South Wales. 2002–03 was a season that saw Bracken struggle as he only took 16 wickets in 6 matches at a rather expensive 36.62. 2003–04 saw Bracken make his Test debut and as a result, he appeared less frequently for New South Wales. Despite this, he still performed well in the 4 matches he participated in, taking 16 wickets at 24.75. Following this season, Bracken was signed by Gloucestershire to play in the English first-class competition as a replacement for Mike Smith. Bracken only played 2 matches for the club, however he was quite successful and took 5 wickets at 21.20 with best figures of 2/12 coming against Lancashire.