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 Oliver
Oliver was born and grew up in Newark graduating from Weequahic High School in 1970. Oliver graduated cum laude with a B.A. from Lincoln University in 1974 in Sociology and was awarded an M.S. from Columbia University in Planning and Administration in 1976. On May 6, 2018 Oliver, received her Doctor of Humane Letters from her alma mater Lincoln University of Pennsylvania.