Sommers was born on March 29, 1932, in Woodbury Heights, New Jersey. Her parents were Roy Sommers, a car dealer who lost his auto dealership during the Great Depression and worked as a car salesman for the remainder of his career, and Christine Sommers, a housewife who went back to her job as office manager for the local Girl Scouts chapter after her husband lost his dealership. Sommers and her siblings Martin and Joan were raised Presbyterian. She graduated from Woodbury High School, where she joined the National Honor Society and studied secretarial training.
