Born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1938 as Pauline Rubbelke, she attended parochial schools.Yeung, Anna M., “Charles S. and Pauline R. Maier” in The Crimson online Fri. May 28, 2010. Viewed 04/22/2001. Her father was a firefighter and her mother was a homemaker with five children."Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series" vol. 150, 2006, Gale, Cengage Learning, Farmington Hills, MI On entering Radcliffe College as an undergraduate, her original ambition was to be in the newspaper business.Denison, Dave. “American truths, American myths” interview with Pauline Maier in Commonwealth Magazine, Fall 1998. Viewed 04/23/2011.
