Torres was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but grew up in Denver, Colorado and has "a Latina background". She has one younger brother, Phillip, who appeared on "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" in October 2008 and won $100,000. She attended the University of Southern California on a full tuition scholarship. During college, she was one of the founding members of the Omega Phi Beta sorority chapter on her campus and held the vice-president position for several years. While in Omega Phi Beta, Torres was awarded for Academic Excellence at the Order of Omega Greek Awards. She graduated with honors and a Grade Point Average above 3.5 in May 2006, with a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering.