Ravera was born Gina D. Ravarra in San Francisco, California. Her father is Puerto-Rican and her mother is African-American.
She is most famous for her role in the film Soul Food, playing the role of the wild and seductive Faith, a distant cousin of the family.
Ravera is set to star in the upcoming film, The Great Debaters, a film about the first African-American debate team ever founded and the inspiring man who created it. The film is being produced by Oprah Winfrey and stars Denzel Washington as the main character of Mel Tolson, the man who eventually inspires his debate team to victory. Ravera stars as his loving and devoted wife.