Esmeralda Tuazon was the second to the eldest among six children born in 1961 to an impoverished family. She helped the family by selling chewing gum. She studied at the Rajah Soliman High School. She was introduced to the producer Baby Martinez of MBM Productions through a common friend. She was then cast in Bitayin Si Baby Ama , by FAMAS. She and Phillip Salvador, together with the late director Lino Brocka, represented the Philippines at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival, where Jaguar was shown at the Directors' Fortnight.
She and the late actor Jay Ilagan have an adopted daughter, Alexandra.
Her husband, Duke Ventura, is of Filipino and Korean blood. He is an Ateneo de Manila graduate.
