Born in Cambridge, UK of Italian parents (from Brisighella in the Emilia-Romagna region in North East Italy and Sorrento near Naples), she is bilingual in English and Italian and resides in London, England with her partner Gerald Heward. She also speaks French and Spanish. From 1997, she was the London Correspondent/translator and presenter for the Bandini Committee (an outfit which awards rookie Formula 1 drivers in the name of the legendary F1 driver Lorenzo Bandini who lost his life at the Monte Carlo Grand Prix of 1967).