Manuela Pagan was born in Juncos, Puerto Rico. She moved to New York City in the early 1960's and lived there for the rest of her life. She was a professional Cosmetologist and graduated from Wilfred Academy in 1985. Later in life she worked with children and ran a home daycare until she was diagnosed with dementia in 2000. She died from complications of Alzheimer's on January 7, 2022. She was a mother of two and is immensely missed by her daughters.