Teresa Gambaro was born in Brisbane to Italian parents, who operated family enterprises including a corner store, supermarket, restaurant and a wholesale and exporting business. She attended All Hallows School and holds a Bachelor of Business from the Queensland University of Technology.
Teresa held numerous marketing and managerial positions and served as a tutor in marketing at the Queensland University of Technology before entering politics.
She is married to Robert Duffy and has two children.
Teresa previously represented the seat of Petrie between 1996 and 2007 and has served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Assistant Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.
Teresa returned to Parliament as the Federal Member for Brisbane at the 2010 election, and was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Settlement and for International Development Assistance.