Ricco was born and raised in Milwaukee, and studied Fine Arts at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee for three years before transferring to the fashion department of neighboring Mount Mary College.
After graduation, she and her business partner and future husband moved to New York City and launched the Donna Ricco label.
Over the next 20 years, the company developed into a successful dress business distributed at department stores such as Nordstrom and Macy’s as well as directly from the Donna Ricco website.
[2] This selection attracted attention from the non-fashion news media, garnering the designer a degree of fame (and a sudden surge in sales).
[3][4] Ricco splits her time between her home in Long Island, NY and her alma mater Mount Mary University, where she is now an executive fellow.