The founder of the child advocacy group Mentoring USA, Cuomo was inducted to the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2017.
Cuomo worked as a teacher and supported her husband while he completed law school at St. John's, graduating with a Juris Doctor degree in 1956.
[8][10][11] Reported as "one of the great love stories," their close public and private partnership lasted 61 years until her husband's death in 2015.
[18] Personal essays on mentoring by Joe Torre, Rosie O'Donnell, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Nora Ephron, General Colin Powell, and Cory Booker are included in her book.
In 1994, she was presented with the International Fellowship Hall of Fame award by the Coalition for Italo-American Associations in honor of her humanitarian efforts as an advocate for children.
[16] Cuomo was the recipient of the first Liberty Partnerships Program Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 for her work to improve the lives of New York's children through education and mentorship.
[11] On March 20, 2020, her son, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, announced a protective order for people over 70 in the state in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
[24] Cuomo and her late husband Mario had five children together, daughters Margaret, Maria, and Madeline, and sons Andrew and Christopher.