Borra (a nickname derived from Deborah) is a rare breed English Speaking Quebec born Canadian (only 1% of Quebec's residents speak English at home). Born in Montreal in 1966, she attended The Study for her school years, followed by Marianopolis College and then earned her BA in Film and Communications at McGill University, graduating in 1987. She ran a successful catering business after university for two years before moving to London, England in 1990. Her first job in London was at an entertainment law firm where she worked for James Wolsey, a solicitor who in his time worked closely with Bob Geldof fighting music piracy across Asia.
Borra then worked under Peter Orton at Hit Communications (now the well known Hit Entertainment) which back then was a children's television programme distribution and merchandise company. From there she went to work at the literary agency, David Higham Associates, where she trained as a television agent before leaving to set up Deborah McKenna Limited in 1996.
Borra's main client in the early days was Gary Rhodes who she managed for 10 years. Her best known client was Jamie Oliver who she met before his first TV series and book were brought out, and she nurtured the foundations of his career for the first 6 years which included Jamie's career defining Sainsbury's endorsement and advertising deal. They parted amicably, and since then Deborah McKenna Limited has continued to grow its client list to include people from all walks of life in the lifestyle arenas.
She lives in Barnes with her husband, and they have a daughter and a son.