chubbuck was born in hudson, ohio, on 24 august 1944. she grew up in a middle-class family and attended laurel school for girls. she went to college at ohio state university. then she graduated from boston university with a degree in broadcasting. she held several jobs with small television stations. in 1973 she was hired by wxlt-tv in sarasota, florida as the host of a morning talk show. according to her co-workers she was pretty, easy to get along with and did a good job. according to her mother she wanted a family but had not found the right person to marry yet. in her spare time she held puppet shows for mentally handicapped children at a local hospital.