Dean was born in
Toronto,
Ontario, grew up in
Ottawa, and graduated from
Algonquin College with a degree in radio-television broadcasting. Before starting her career in broadcasting, she worked as a Canadian
bylaw enforcement officer. Later Dean worked at several radio and television stations in Canada and the United States, including
CHEZ-FM and
WCBS-TV, finally landing a post at Fox News. In 2009, Dean's application for the
American Meteorological Society Seal of Approval was granted. The Seal is not a meteorology diploma, so she is not a meteorologist. Rather, it was launched in 1957 as a way to recognize on-air personalities for their sound delivery of weather information to the general public, and the AMS is no longer accepting applications for the Seal of Approval Program. Dean wrote a series of
Freddy the Frogcaster children's books. Her first book,
Mostly Sunny: How I Learned to Keep Smiling Through the Rainiest Days, was released on March 5, 2019. Her second book,
Make Your Own Sunshine: Inspiring Stories of People Who Find Light in Dark Times, was released on March 2, 2021.
Criticisms of Andrew Cuomo Dean's father-in-law and mother-in-law, each a resident of an assisted living facility or nursing home in
New York, died due to complications of
COVID-19. In the aftermath, she attributed both deaths to a state advisory that required admissions and readmissions of assisted living and nursing home residents without virus testing and became an outspoken high-profile critic of Governor
Andrew Cuomo and the lack of media coverage about the policy. She specifically noted the behavior of both Governor Cuomo and his brother
Chris regarding his appearances on Chris's
CNN show, describing it as "an insensitive, giggling interview." The Governor's secretary
Melissa DeRosa was among the Cuomo aides who, along with his brother, criticized Dean behind the scenes and tried to create a strategy to paint Dean's commentary as unimportant. It was reported that Chris Cuomo and Melissa DeRosa had plotted to discredit Dean over her criticism of Andrew Cuomo. ==Personal life==