The daughter of George and Geraldine Culberson, Annette is a native of Greene County, Tennessee and a 1977 graduate of West Greene High School. Attending East Tennessee State University on a basketball scholarship, she helped ETSU to a 54-54 record in her four years of playing guard for the Lady Bucs. She graduated from ETSU in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree, then continued in graduate school there, earning her master's degree in Secondary Math Education in 1985. She married Mike Watts, a professional race car driver.
