She was born in Montevideo in 1953 as the daughter of a Uruguayan diplomat. She has lived in Madrid since 1965. Besides Madrid, she has also lived in many capital cities including Moscow, Buenos Aires, and London where her father was ambassador.

She went to Oxford University but left before graduating when she married Rafael de Cueto. They had two children, Sofia (1975) and Jimena (1978). She later divorced de Cueto and married Mariano Rubio. In 1985, she was granted Spanish nationality. In 1988, she became a host of the Spanish television (RTVE).

She began her literary career in 1980 writing books for children. In 1984, she won the Premio Nacional de Literatura (Spanish prize of literature). In 1996 she published her first novel, Cinco Moscas Azules (The Last Resort) which was one of the most original and successful books of the year. Her second novel, Pequeñas infamias (Little Indiscretions), won the coveted Planeta Prize in 1998. Since then, she has sold more a million copies in more than fifty countries and she has been translated in 21 languages.More recent successful books are "Childs Play" and "The red Ribbon"