Nancy Master grew up in Greenville in Western Michigan. Her father was in middle management at a refrigerator company and her mother was a librarian and a teacher.

She and her husband Larry and their daughter came to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1980 at the suggestion of Master's uncle, a doctor who had established a practice here. Larry was hired at Roy Martin Junior High, and in February of 1981, Nancy was hired to teach library skills classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).