She was born in Baker, Oregon and moved around a lot as a child.
In 1973, she told the press that she was single and pregnant and that she would raise the child alone. It was a bold statement for an actress to make in that era.
She graduated from high school in Southern California.
In 1958, she got her first job as a stenographer at ABC. Later, she moved to Warner Bros. where she worked as a secretary. Someone had suggested to her that she study acting and that's how she decided to become an actress.