Thalia Dondero was born January 23, 1921 in Greeley, Colorado. She lived in Colorado and Wyoming before her family settled in Bakersfield, California. Dondero moved to Las Vegas in 1943 when her employer took a job with Basic Magnesium, Inc., and asked that she follow him. She married Harvey Dondero, who taught English and journalism for local high schools, in 1946.