Iervolino was born to Angelo Raffaele Jervolino (1890–1985) and Maria De Unterrichter (1902–1975), a native of Trentino, on 17 September 1936.

Her uncle was Südtiroler Volkspartei senator Guido De Unterrichter (1903–1979).

[citation needed] She served as a member of the Italian Senate as a Christian Democrat (Democrazia Cristiana; DC), starting in 1979 as part of legislature VIII to 1994 in legislature XI when she resigned.

She ran as a candidate for Mayor of Naples in the 2001 municipal election for the centre-left coalition and she won with 53% of votes.

[9] In February 2013, Iervolino was charged by the Court of Audits, alongside other former mayors such as Antonio Bassolino.