She was the second wife of Pedro Passos Coelho, former prime minister of Portugal.

After the Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974, a military coup in Lisbon which overthrew Portugal's Estado Novo dictatorship and would grant independence to the Portuguese territories in Africa shortly after, her parents moved to Cape Verde, living in the city of Mindelo for a while, where Ferreira went to school.

In 1978 the family moved to Portugal, living first in Coimbra and then in Cacém near the capital, Lisbon.

As a college student, she first studied medicine at the University of Lisbon and then switched courses, being ultimately awarded a degree in physiotherapy which led her to follow a professional career as physiotherapist.

[1][4] In 2004 she married Pedro Passos Coelho, who became the prime minister of Portugal between 2011 and 2015 as leader of the liberal-conservative Social Democratic Party (PSD).