The second of four daughters in a tight-knit Catholic family. She attended Villa Angela Catholic School for girls and became a mother at 19. She pursued modeling in Chicago and Miami before moving to Los Angeles in 1994.
The song "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" by Counting Crows was written about her. Has 2 sons named Danny and Liam. Is a vegetarian. Married an orthopedic surgeon, Chris Allison. Gave birth to a girl, Molly Brigid Allison, on August 3, 2005 weighing in at 7 lb. 3 oz. During the 2003 TV development season, she appeared in the CBS comedy The Lunchbox Chronicles, which failed to get picked up. Early in 2004, she was cast opposite Chris O'Donnell and Jay Harrington in the unsuccessful comedy pilot "The Amazing Westermans", also at CBS. She appeared as "Dalina" for the pilot of the US version of the Peruvian TV show Nubeluz, which was never aired.