Torres was born at the Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital in Manhattan, New York City, the youngest of three children. She also trained in opera and jazz, and performed in a gospel choir. She subsequently decided that college was not what she needed and chose to pursue her dream of being a performer.

Torres, a mezzo soprano, began singing at an early age and attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City. She also trained in opera and jazz, and performed in a gospel choir. Also in 2005, she voiced the character of Vixen in numerous episodes of the animated series Justice League Unlimited and replaced the voice-over of Jada Pinkett Smith’s character Niobe in The Matrix Online. Gina is best known for her role in Fox’s short-lived Firefly series which lasted only one season but still carries a heavy science fiction fanbase. The cast includes Cole Hauser, Eddie Cibrian, Gina Torres, Teri Polo and Matthew Yang King. On January 8, 2007, Fishburne’s spokesman Alan Nierob announced the couple were expecting their first child together.