The daughter of a special agent with the FBI who uncovered Russian espionage during the Cold War and, later, worked on kidnapping and extortion cases, her interest in suspense started at an early age.
[2] She attended Immaculate Heart Academy in Washington Township, Bergen County, New Jersey, graduating in 1972.
With the goal of working in television news, she graduated from the University of Rhode Island with degrees in journalism and political science.
[3] She started her professional career as a desk assistant at CBS News headquarters in New York City, eventually becoming a producer and writer.
[5] She has two children, a daughter, Elizabeth, an actress, and a son, David who has Fragile X Syndrome, the most common inherited form of developmental disability.