Raised on a small farm in rural New Mexico, Judy Pennell grew up riding horses and tending animals, while pretending to live on the Ponderosa with the handsome Cartwrights (Bonanza), or in Dodge City, being protected by Sheriff Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke), or getting into mischief with Laura Ingalls (Little House On The Prairie). She still resides in sunny New Mexico with her favorite romantic hero, her husband.