Alicia Esteve Head was born on July 31, 1973 in Barcelona, Spain. Head came from a prominent Barcelona family that was involved in a 1992 financial scandal for which her father and brother served prison terms.[2] She attended the University of Barcelona and worked for Hotel de la Villa Olímpicia S.A., a Spanish hotel company.[2] She later worked in Barcelona as a management secretary from 1998 to 2000 and was enrolled in a master's degree program at ESADE in 2001 when the September 11 attacks took place.[2][4]