This legendary star was born the younger child of a nurse, Jeanette, and a construction contractor, Victor. As the second-born and last child in her family, she was an all-American girl who was an honor student and cheerleader at her high school.
This future star later studied drama at Tarrytown, New York’s Marymount College. When she was a senior at college, she became a New York State finalist in the Miss Universe pageant. However, the finals coincided with her comprehensive exams, forcing her to drop out of the competition. Her father insisted that her degree was much more important.
Despite the sacrifice, the celebrity didn’t have any bad blood with her late father and has since shared several social media photos celebrating him.For instance, in 2015, she uploaded a throwback photo of them on Instagram for Father’s Day. She was 17 and they were captured smiling as they danced. In her caption, the star expressed how much she missed him. “He was the best father a girl could ever have–I am so lucky to have had him as mine!” she also wrote…CONTINUE READING