Clarissa Santiago was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey in January 1981 to proud Puerto Rican parents. Clarissa moved to the South Bronx as a toddler, and was raised by her mother and Godparents. She grew up in a strict household with many responsibilities from a young age and learned the importance of education, spirituality and morals.

Clarissa Santiago began her career at the early age of 14 as a hip-hop dancer and appeared in music videos with P. Diddy, Missy Elliot, Shaggy, Pharaoh Monch, Lil Kim, Mobb Deep, Terror Squad, and Da Brat, to name a few. While attending Harry S Truman High School in the Bronx back in 1995, she was an active member of the drama club, dance team, and student government. By her sophomore year, a friend introduced her to the Teen Puerto Rico Pageant where Clarissa became a contestant and placed as second runner up. Soon after, Clarissa entered the Puerto Rican Day Parade Pageant in 1999, and then the Latina USA Pageant in 2000 – her first national competition. Clarissa developed a respect and admiration for pageantry and decided to organize her own state pageant. She founded Ideal Entertainment in 2001, and went into business as an events production company. Her mission was to help young Latinas find a way into the business and also wanted to have purpose her work. Clarissa's first event and most successful to date was the Latina New York Pageant.

Since, Clarissa has received consecutive 'Director of the Year' awards for her 2004 and 2005 pageant show productions. She went on to become Vice President of the international pageant in 2005. During her tenure, New York delegates obtained top five positions in the international pageant through her training and mentoring programs. She also remains actively involved in her community, and organizes training workshops in the New York metropolitan area for upcoming models. Clarissa is committed to her Latin people and is on a mission to promote women in entertainment.

In 2006, Clarissa resigned as VP of Latina World to kick start her own entertainment career. Since, she has been featured in AsIs Magazine, 60Degreez.com, The Hottest & Sexiest Model Network, and The Dynasty Series models, to name a few. Clarissa was also selected from thousands of entries across the country for a royal experience on the reality TV show American Princess. You can expect to see this "Beauty from the Bronx" battle it out for a dance with the prince, a diamond tiara, and $50,000 cash! The reality show aired Sunday August 19th on the Women's Entertainment network. She is currently in the studio putting her songwriting skills to the test, on her debut independent Hip-Hop / R&B demo.