terrayne crawford was born on february 13, 1945, in boston, massachusetts. after completing her secondary education, she enrolled at brown university, but never attended due to a severe car accident. while recovering, she changed her plans and moved to new york city with plans to study psychology at hunter college and pursue an acting career. beginning her career on the stage, she debuted with "to broadway with love" and later played in "by jupiter" and "apple tree", which toured the us.