She is a graduate of Columbia Business School and Miami University located in Oxford, Ohio where she was a Knight-Bagehot Fellow.
Prior to joining Fox Business, Willis served as the personal finance editor for CNN, hosting a weekly half-hour program titled Your Bottom Line, which focused on ways to save Americans money and the economy's effects on personal finance.
Willis is the author of two business books, The Smart Money Guide to Real Estate Investing and Home Rich.
She was also the winner of the Excellence in Retirement Savings Reporting award in 2001, which is bestowed by the American University School of Communication and the Investment Company Institute's Education Foundation.
[2][better source needed] In May 2016, Willis announced her breast cancer diagnosis after discovering an abnormality and seeing her physician in April.