Stella Alesi has resided in Austin, Texas for the last 25 years. Her work has been exhibited in commercial and university galleries throughout Texas, as well as being purchased for many private collections. Her most recent exhibit took place in spring 2019 at Prizer Art & Letters in Austin. Currently a full time painter, Stella taught photography at the Austin Community College and ran a successful photography business for over 15 years.

In 2005 she was awarded a Brown Foundation Full Fellowship to attend a residency at the Vermont Studio Center. She and her husband, Leon, founded the in-house gallery BLACKBOX in January of 2012 , and have curated and produced 12 exhibitions of emerging Austin artists. In addition they exhibit and promote their own work during Austin's open studio tours.

Born on Long Island, New York in 1963, she was raised in New Jersey. She began her undergraduate work at Parsons School of Design in New York City, with stints in Paris and Los Angeles, and finished at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. Her graduate work was completed at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.