Torres was born at the Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital in Manhattan, New York, the youngest of three children. Her family lived briefly in Washington Heights before moving to The Bronx. Her parents were both natives of Afro-Cuban descent and her father worked as a typesetter for La Prensa and the New York Daily News. Torres began singing at an early age and attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City. She applied to and was accepted to several colleges, but could not afford to attend. Torres subsequently decided that college wasn't what she needed, and chose to pursue her dream of being a performer.[citation needed]

Torres is a mezzo soprano who began her performing career as a singer, attending New York City's High School of Music and Art. Torres also trained in opera and jazz, and she performed in a gospel choir.