Born in the peasantry in Collevecchio in Sabina, Simonetta was employed as a maidservant in the household of Alfonsina Orsini in Rome.
[1] Alessandro de' Medici was called il Moro because of his dark complexion, and therefore it has been speculated that Simonetta was of African heritage.
[2] French author Jean Nestor claimed twice in his 1560 book that Alessandro's mother was a Moorish slave.
[3] However, Simonetta was evidently born in the peasantry and employed as a free maidservant, and not a slave, and there is no confirmation that she was of African heritage.
Simonetta married a mule driver from Collevecchio, a site associated with Monte della Verna.