Schiano was born in Naples, Italy to parents Michele Schiano and Anna Facciolli.^[1] Her father was involved in construction and her mother had an aristocratic background.^[2] Her childhood was said to be unhappy, she was described as tall for her age, strong-willed, a deep husky voice and was described as unattractive, especially by her mother.^[2][3] At age 14 or 15, she left home and traveled to Milan to become a model.^[2] After the death of her father, she moved to Rome where her uncle lived and studied political science at university.^[2] Returning to Milan later, she met model Elsa Peretti.^[2]

Sciano arrived in New York in 1967 with her friend Elsa Peretti.^[3] There she was said to have been discovered by photographer Yasuhiro Wakabayashi.^[1] In 1968, she appeared in a twenty-eight-page feature in Vogue, photographed by Henry Clark.^[3] During her time in modelling and fashion, she worked with many photographers including Jeanloup Sieff, Clive Arrowsmith, Annie Leibovitz, Richard Avedon, John Fairchild, Herb Ritts and Grace Coddington.^[1][2][3] She appeared in many international editions of Vogue and other fashion magazines.^[3] She worked with many fashion designers including Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti, in particular a muse to Yves Saint Laurent and François Nars.^[1][2][3] As a socialite, she became part of the New York society scene, seen regularly with Andy Warhol, Diana Vreeland and Diane von Fürstenberg.^[1]

In 1972, she was hired by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his business partner Pierre Bergé to manage the YSL store in New York.^[1] Her responsibilities increased and she became YSL's Communications Director and Vice-President for North America and managed their 52 boutiques and 21 licencees.^[2][4] She was responsible for YSL's launch of the perfume Opium in the US in 1977.^[4][3] In 1980 she stepped down at YSL, formed her own public relations firm, and managed the company's image.^[2] She ended her relationship with YSL in 1982.^[1] She then joined Calvin Klein as their National and International Director of Public Relation, attempting to bring some contacts and glamour to the brand.^[1][2][3] After three years, she joined Vanity Fair as its Creative Style Director for editor Tina Brown.^[2][1] There she would dress Madonna, Cindy Crawford and K.D.Lang for some of the magazine's famous covers.^[1] In 1992 she was retrenched from Vanity Fair in a shake-up by editor Graydon Carter.^[2] Schiano then began her own line of over-sized jewelry consisting of semiprecious jeweled silver and gold rings, something she had indulged in before, sold in high-end stores.^[1] Around 2001, she withdrew from her New York life and friends and moved to Brazil with her husband.^[1][2]

Her first marriage in 1973 was to Andy Warhol's business manager Frederick Hughes. The marriage was brief but allowed her to obtain a green card.^[1][3][5] Later she married photographer Marcus Vinícius Coelho, with whom she was married for more than forty years.^[1]

Schiano died in Porto Seguro, Brazil from complications following surgery for kidney cancer.^[1] She was survived by her husband, Marcus Vinícius Coelho.^[1]

• Stardust Memories (1980) as Cabaret Patron^[6]