 She was born September 8, 1945 in the US but decided to give up her US citizenship and chose to be legally Filipina when she applied for a scholarship for a master's degree in radio and television from the University of Michigan.In 1966, she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and drama at the University of the Philippines Diliman.She continued her studies at the University of Michigan and obtained her master's degree in radio-television in 1968.