Deanna was born in Tucson, Arizona in 1955. Her mother was from a ranching family in North Dakota and her father was born and raised in Tucson and was a bull rider himself. They met while attending a rodeo. Out of 5 kids, 4 of them would go on to compete in rodeos.
Deanna attended Central Arizona College on a rodeo scholarship. This is where she met Chuck Rex, her future husband. Subsequently they moved to Tucson and married, some 39 years ago today.
During Deanna’s career she has been a member of the AJRA, NIRA, LERA, WPRCA and the NSPRA associations.