Bartiromo grew up in the Bay Ridge section of southern Brooklyn. As a teenager, she checked coats at her parents' Italian restaurant where her father was the chef. She graduated from Fontbonne Hall Academy, an all girls Roman Catholic high school in Bay Ridge, in 1985.

Bartiromo graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and a minor in economics.

On June 13, 1999, Bartiromo married Jonathan Steinberg, son of investor Saul Steinberg. Jonathan ("Jono") is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of WisdomTree Investments, a financial investment services company in Manhattan, most noted for their issuance of exchange-traded funds.

Before joining CNBC in 1993, Bartiromo was a producer and assignment editor with CNN Business News for five years.

Although Bartiromo was not the first person (she took over from analyst Roy Blumberg) to report regularly live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, she quickly became the most popular. With CNBC she hosted their Market Watch program from 10:00 to 12:00 ET, as well as being a regular contributor to Squawk Box for many years before leaving the morning program. Bartiromo was nicknamed the Money Honey during the boom years of the stock market in the late 1990s due to her striking looks. She was also nicknamed the "Econo Babe".

Since the 1990s, the nickname "Money Honey" has spread to refer to attractive female financial news reporters in general. On January 16, 2007, Bartiromo filed to trademark the term for herself. The multiple trademark applications were for many children's products including piggy banks, cookie jars, mouse pads,jigsaw puzzles, coloring books, comic books, notepads, children's paper place mats, coupon books, backpacks, and other play items such as toy banks and toy cash registers.

Bartiromo has also made appearances on numerous non-financial television shows, including NBC Universal's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Caroline Rhea Show, McEnroe, and The Colbert Report, as well as guest-hosting on Live with Regis and Kelly.

Bartiromo's first book was Use the News: How to Separate the Noise from the Investment Nuggets and Make Money in Any Economy. She is also the author of The 10 Laws of Enduring Success, published in March 2010.

On October 11, 2010, Bartiromo was the Grand Marshall of the New York City Columbus Day Parade

Host shows

• The Business of Innovation (2007—present)
• Wall Street Journal Report with Maria Bartiromo (a CNBC show where she anchors and co-produces. She interviews prominent business people, entertainers, athletes, and politicians in this program.)
• Closing Bell (2002—present)
• Market Wrap (1998—2000)
• Business Center (1997—1999)