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. Is a vegetarian. Gave birth to a girl, Molly Brigid Allison, on August 3, 2005 weighing in at 7 lb. 3 oz. She appeared as "Dalina" for the pilot of the US version of the Peruvian TV show "Nubeluz" (1990), which was never aired. Favorite singer is Cat Stevens.