She is the sister of former cross-country skier Giorgio Di Centa and cousin of former track and field athlete Venanzio Ortis.

Di Centa, born in Paluzza, province of Udine, to a family of Nordic skiers, made her debut on the Italian national team in 1980 at the age of 17, skied with the G.S.

Two years later, she competed at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo finishing in eighth place.

After a quarrel with the president of the Italian Skiing Federation, Di Centa left the national team, not returning until 1986.

Her younger brother Giorgio is currently a member of the Italian national cross-country ski team and was the winner of two gold medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

[5] The Swedish investigative television program Uppdrag granskning claimed that Di Centa had an exceptionally high hemoglobin level prior to a World Cup in Lahti in 1997.