Las Vegas, Nevada comedic entertainer Nancy Byrne Austin was born in Silver Springs, Maryland in 1934. She received her education at the University of Maryland, earning a degree in Education. She taught elementary school for a short time before committing full time to show business. She began performing comedy in New York City in the 1950s and moved to Las Vegas in the early 1960s. Austin made an initial impression as one of the original cast members of the popular Las Vegas daytime review Bottoms Up.