My Bio

About Me - My Bio

My name is Leonora but I go by many nicknames: Leo, Leah, Nora, Lee, Lola, LV. I’ll know where I met you, where we worked together or where we went to school by the name you call me. I am married to my amazing and sexy Italian stallion, Gerardo and a mommy to our pretty and funny girl, Isabella.

I've always lived an ambitious and very busy life. Along with going to school and making good grades, I started working in a restaurant when I was 13. My dream was to be a reporter or TV anchor like Barbara Walters. I got my first break when I waited on a famous sports reporter at a restaurant in Royal Oak, Michigan, while still in college. He offered me an opportunity to intern in the sports department. Thankfully, in less than a few weeks I made my way into the newsroom because I knew NOTHING about sports!

I remember I had to log games, basically the main highlights of the game and what time they happened. My notes consisted of “man in blue jersey throws ball to man in orange jersey.” Meanwhile it’s Tom Brady and some other famous player I still cannot remember the name of. I probably even have the colors wrong.

My first baseball game I ever attended was the World Series when Detroit played Kansas City. I remember my brother saying, “That’s not fair, you don’t even like baseball!” I got to help field-produce. I was very excited. I remember the suite we aired from had free cigarettes, alcohol and lots of food. And no I did not take home any booze, I was still underage, and my drinking habit didn’t really begin until I was 30, nothing hard, just red wine in the winter and white in the summer. I did however bring my mom home a couple packs of cigarettes.

It’s crazy to think they would have smokes in the suites back then. Are you trying to figure out how old I am? It wasn’t that long ago. It was right before the smoking laws changed. Still trying to guess? I’ll be 39 in May. I was born in the best year ever, 1985. Still young enough to enjoy the innocence of riding bikes all day outside and not coming home until right before the sunset for dinner, drinking out of the hose (I actually never really did that but I’m painting a picture here), renting movies at blockbuster and hanging out at bowling alleys, malls and movie theaters with friends. I’m glad social media didn’t exist when I was growing up. I was 16 when I got my first computer with AOL and my first email address ended in Hotmail-dot-com. I remember when $5 got you a quarter tank of gas and Carson Daly was a host on TRL, and MTV still had music videos. Anyhow, I’m getting off track. Now, where was I? Oh yes...

Although I never made it onto the big screen, I’ve had a lot of fun along the way. From assisting celebrities like the gracious and gorgeous Ann Margret on movie sets to working on exciting advertising campaigns in New York City. I’ve had some pretty cool jobs. I’ve never turned down an opportunity to learn something new. I also met some fantastic people. I went to a karaoke bar with Christina Ricci, I went on a double date where the other couple was Steven Segal and his girl at the time, I spent Thanksgiving dinner one year at Ann Margret’s home. I’ve waited on celebs like Bon Jovi, Keanu Reeves and Gwen Stefani. I met so many interesting people. I’ve worked in the most amazing cities like Los Angeles and New York. I’ve traveled to so many beautiful countries, partied in awesome clubs, ate and worked at some of the best restaurants.

After LA and New York, I made my way back to Detroit, to the newsroom again, managing schedules for the on-air talent, field producing events like the Charity Preview at the Auto Show and the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and filling in at the Assignment Desk to name a few. I was the jack of all trades in my twenties, but I was broke.

Once I realized the types of cars the folks in the sales department drove at the TV stations, Beamers and Audis, compared to what I was driving, a 1994 Toyota Corolla; his name was Tupac, by the way. I went from the newsroom to the sales team. I was also tired of working seven days a week, working in the newsroom Monday through Friday and still waitressing on the weekends. And since I finally decided my desire to pursue anything on camera was gone and I was pushing thirty with no real savings, my priorities went from “follow your dreams” to “make some real money”.

I left the world of TV news and went to another type of television, cable. I will forever be thankful to this woman manager who gave me the opportunity to work on her sales team. This position really changed my finances and helped me grow in many ways, but this too had run its course. Let me tell you something, being in sales is the hardest job in the world! Next time someone tries to sell you something, please at least be nice to them. Nobody deals with more rejection and people pleasing than they do. After about five years, I was done with it. I needed a break. I tried a couple of other career moves after that in marketing and sales but I was over it.

I wanted to experience it all, but when it came to being on camera, I never took the chance. I had many chances but I didn’t take them. Mainly, because the money was better for positions at that time behind the camera, but the most important reason was because of Louise, well actually her name is Lula and she is my mother, my hero, my rock. I’m her Thelma and she is my Louise. I’m serious. Friends and family would actually address their wedding and shower invitations to us as ‘Thelma & Louise’. I couldn’t travel all over the states and leave her at the time those opportunities were being offered to me, and by the time my mom could travel with me like she did when I worked in LA and New York, that on-air dream ship had sailed.

So, my last career move before leaving the nice people in the Midwest and schlepping over to the ________ people of New York (fill in the blank), we opened a restaurant with my mother, brother and myself in a lovely town called Shelby Township, Michigan. It was the best decision ever, even as Covid came along. It was a blessing, really, that I left corporate to run a restaurant because it was nice to see people instead of staying home and watching the news every day.

And I’m just kidding, New York isn’t really that bad. Are the people always miserable it seems? Yes. Are they always yelling in their cars and in the streets at you? Yes. But like everywhere in the world, there are good people, and I can’t really blame them for yelling because nobody knows how to fricken drive here!!! Okay, maybe NY is rubbing off on me.

Upon marrying my husband (he is from New York, the Bronx) we sold the restaurant and all moved back to New York, because like I said Thelma and Louise cannot part ways. When I moved, she moved and my brother followed a few months later. Noticed I said “back to New York”. Originally, when my parents came to America in 1985, we lived in New York until they divorced when I was 9. We also briefly lived in New York again in 2010 when I worked in advertising. This was after we all briefly lived in Los Angeles when I worked on movie sets. Are you keeping up?

Meanwhile, in the middle of all of my jobs and moves I managed to get married THREE times. It’s true what they say, third time's a charm, but my love life story is for another day and another post. Actually, it deserves its own movie or book. I’d love Mandy Moore to play me in the movie.

As I mentioned earlier, my parents came to America in 1985. I was born in Croatia (former Yugoslavia). We still have our home there and visit every summer. This summer will be Isabella’s first time in Croatia. My parents and I, and now my husband, have invested a lot into it over the years. My dream has always been to take my children there every summer. My hope is that they love and appreciate it as much as I do and to always keep it in the family. We just finished building out the rentals. If you’re looking for an apartment to rent in Istria, Croatia, there’s more details to come soon!

So, here I am now, a Westchester housewife and mom. My husband and I married in August of 2021 and after we miscarried in January of 2022, God blessed us with our beautiful, spicy red headed baby girl, Isabella, born in September of 2023. All I ever wanted, more than being a famous TV personality, was to be married to someone like my husband, and to have a family. I always dreamt of that house in the suburbs with the white picket fence and now I have it, except for the fence. I’ve tried but my husband won’t budge on that part. He says it doesn’t go with our house. I’ve accepted it and moved on.

Anyhow, when I found out Isabella was a girl I was over the moon! I love taking her out and strolling with her in the city. She is all I need in this life. My side kick, my best friend. My wish for my daughter is that she follows her dreams ALL the way through.

There’s a lot to learn in life but by far the most important lesson I've learned… is that life is beautiful; even in the ugly, you can find beauty.

I believe that God is never late. He’s always right on time.

About Me - My Bio