- Of Puerto Rican ancestry
- Mother of Marc, Erik, David and Angela.
- Divorced.
- Attended Long Island University, where she met her husband, Jerry.
- In 1998, she matriculated at The French Culinary Institute, where she won first prize for her final project, "The Passionate Palate". Shortly after graduation, she worked on the set of PBS' "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen" (1999) as a prep-kitchen chef, and as a private chef in New York City, which she did for three years. In addition, she managed a small catering business, "The Passionate Palate", which she continues to operate.
- Before becoming a TV chef, she was an actress and a model. She became the "Martinez Valero Girl" for the Spanish shoe company by the same name. She appeared in American commercials for Ford and in Spanish-language commercials for AT&T. She has also appeared in Carlito's Way (1993) and Scent of a Woman (1992).
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