Sheila Kuehl
Kuehl was born Sheila Ann Kuehl in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her father, Arthur, was an airplane construction worker at Douglas Aircraft. He was Catholic and her mother, Lillian, was Jewish. As a child actress she performed under the stage name Sheila James.
Sheila Kuehl
While working in private practice in Los Angeles Kuehl began fund-raising for the Sojourn Center for Battered Women (which she eventually served as Chair). Staff from other shelters soon began asking Kuehl for legal advice and training in domestic-violence law. Kuehl later recalled this time saying "I had to learn what there was, which wasn't much." She then joined a handful of other lawyers in trying to assist in crafting legislation on the issue which included a bill that required judges in custody cases to consider evidence of domestic violence.