De Lisle studied at the University of Maryland and attended the School of Broadcasting in Nuremberg before returning to Berlin to work as a radio announcer for the American military broadcaster, AFN. When the allied military forces withdrew from the newly un-divided city, taking their radio broadcasting facilities with them, DeLisle moved on to the private radio sector, and eventually to television. She and her husband, also a journalist, live in a small house in the south of Berlin. In the few hours when she is not working, DeLisle enjoys reading. Her favourite website is "www.sciam.com", the homepage of the Scientific American, which has all sorts of great articles about... science!