Ivey was born in Washington, D.C. on July 30, 1961,[1] to father Joseph L. Stephenson, an African-American U.S. Army captain during World War II, and mother Shirlita Hutchins, a white woman.

[1] She also focused on issues related to children and families, and was supportive of same-sex marriage in Maryland and efforts to authorize a casino in Prince George's County.

[9] In September 2013, The Washington Post reported that Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler had narrowed his running mate choices to a handful of politicians from Prince George's County and Baltimore, including Ivey.

[11] On the campaign trail, Ivey criticized Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown as a "failed leader"[12] and focused her attacks on his voting record,[13] mismanagement of the state's health insurance marketplace,[14][15] and his decision to send his children to a private school.

[12] She also defended Gansler after the National Journal published a photo showing him at a house party attended by his son where underage drinking was taking place.

[11] Following her defeat, Ivey worked as a community relations representative for Lerner Enterprises in its bid to bring the Federal Bureau of Investigation's new headquarters to Prince George's County.

[21] Ivey defeated former Bladensburg mayor Walter James Jr. in the Democratic primary on June 26, 2018, and ran unopposed in the general election.

[28] In October 2024, Ivey said that she would run for Prince George's County Executive if Angela Alsobrooks defeats Larry Hogan in the 2024 United States Senate election in Maryland.

[29] After Alsobrooks resigned on December 2, 2024, Ivey formally announced her campaign in the 2025 Prince George's County executive special election.

"[32] In 2014, she criticized a proposal by Governor Martin O'Malley to provide $4 million to expand access to pre-kindergarten classes, saying that it was too little of an amount to do much to support kids who needed it.

[37] In October 2013, Ivey said that she opposed plans to redevelop part of the University of Maryland Golf Course into an academic village of housing, office, and retail development.

[39] In 2019, Ivey introduced a bill to eliminate and cut the county's food truck application fees, which were among the most expensive in the Washington metropolitan area.

[42] During her 2014 lieutenant gubernatorial campaign, Ivey said she supported decriminalizing marijuana use, pointing to the penalties' disproportionate impact on African Americans and Latinos.

[43] In October 2015, Ivey supported a bill that required Prince George's County businesses to provide employees up to seven days of paid sick leave annually.

[57] She also opposed proposals to build a Maglev train connecting Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, saying that it would "disproportionately benefit the wealthy"[58] and hurt the county by peeling customers away from Amtrak.