She grew up in Palo Alto, California and attended three colleges honing her skills. They were San Jose State College, Stanford University (where she earned a master's degree in drama and literature) and the American Conservatory Theatre. She credits the teachings of John Lehne, Jered Barclay, Ken McMillan, Gerry Hiken, Negal Jacson and Alan Fletcher as her acting influences. She battled dyslexia throughout her school years. After college she spent a year in Hawaii, then to Oregon where she met Future Fridays cast member Mark Blankfield at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She then moved to New York for five years. Her first job in New York was teaching speech to policemen and firemen at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In 1979 she moved to Los Angeles just before Fridays broke.