Stephanie Clark (née Mooney) was born and raised in Indiana where, as a child, she was drawn to the nature scenes that have been the biggest influence on her artistic style. As one of six children, she stood out from her siblings with her creative abilities. Surrounded by corn fields and streams, she loved to observe how water flows and cuts through earth and river banks, creating undulating shapes and forms. She left school to pursue her modeling career and spent the next seven years of her life traveling for work across the United States and overseas to Japan, Italy and France. She enjoyed a career that included 25 years of commercial print work as well as over 40 television ads including the iconic Nair television spot "We wear short shorts." She eventually settled in New York City where she married and had three children.