Mary Elizabeth von Till was born on April 16, 1934 in Brooklyn, New York. She is the fifth child of eight in her family. Her family moved around much of the Northeast as a child before settling back in Brooklyn at age twelve. She graduated high school in 1947 and went on to Barnard College, where she graduated in 1955. From there, Elizabeth moved on to graduate school at Northwestern University, where she met her husband, Claude Warren. The two married in December 1955.