Patricia Ellis

Born in Birmingham, Michigan, in 1918 (although she gave her year of birth to the Social Security Administration as 1920), Ellis was the eldest of four children born to Eugene Gladstone O'Brien, a Detroit insurance salesman, and his wife, Florence (née Calkins), who married on April 16, 1917. Ellis's younger siblings were Joseph, Eugene, and Margery. Her parents divorced 12 years later, on April 19, 1929, when Patricia was 10 years old, reportedly "with the understanding that during the summer months the children ... were to remain with their mother and the father was to keep them during the school year". She was later known as Patricia Leftwich after her mother married Alexander Leftwich, described as "an eminent New York producer of musical shows." She had a step-brother, Alexander Leftwich Jr. Her childhood activities included singing and dancing, and she reportedly studied French and German.

A 1932 newspaper article said, "Since she was able to walk, Patricia has been familiar with the world of the theater, accompanying her father constantly to rehearsals and performances." That same year, another newspaper reported, "She understudied all her father's leading women in the last few years, assisted him with lighting and costuming, and knows stage production, too."

Patricia Leftwich attended Brantwood Hall School and Gardner School for Girls, and began her stage career after leaving school. She took classes in studio facilities while pursuing her acting career.