Barbara Givens was born September 13, 1937 in California. She grew up in Reno, Nevada and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1952 with her family when she was 14 years old. Givens graduated from Las Vegas High School and enrolled in the first matriculated teacher's program at the Southern Regional Division of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV).

Dallamy has beautiful memories of her childhood in Cuba where she played on the beach and in the fruit orchards. Her parents were separated, so she grew up with her mother and her siblings. Her father was a school teacher who was going to school for his doctorate. He urged Dallamy to pursue higher education, so she began a teaching program and was well on her way to receive a federal scholarship. In her last year of school Dallamy decided instead to move to the United States with her then partner.