Barbara Solomon was born in San Francisco. During her adolescence she trained as a dancer and studied painting at the California School of Fine Arts. Later she married Frank Stauffacher, an experimental film director, best known for introducing European avant-garde techniques to American viewers. From 1948 to 1955 Barbara studied various subjects, including history, painting, ballet, and philosophy. In 1955 her husband died from a brain tumor, leaving Barbara to care for their daughter Chloe, then three years old.
