 Cannatella was on several athletic teams throughout her high school career at South Lafourche High School.After visiting her sister Buffy at the University of Southern Mississippi, Cannatella decided on that college, which she began attending at age 17, though she never finished.Sullen about the impending need to pay back her student loans as her graduation neared in 2002, Cannatella heard a radio ad for a show called "Lost in the U.S.A.", which offered a $50,000 prize, and would be co-produced by Bunim-Murray Productions and air on The WB.