Vanessa Minnillo was born on November 9, 1980, at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Her father, Vince Minnillo, was an Air Force Aircrew Member (now retired) of Irish and Italian extraction, and her mother, Helen Berecero, a Filipina he met while based in the Philippines. She and her family, which includes a two-years older brother, Vincent, lived in California, Nevada, Florida, Germany, and Japan before settling down in Charleston, South Carolina. Vanessa attended seven different schools during this time, and participated in cheer leading and volunteer work for numerous different local charities. (imdb.com)