Born as Susan Carol Shoffner in San Diego, California, USA, she attended Citrus College, a community college in Glendora, California, where she majored in business, art and cosmetology. While vacationing in Hawaii in 1970, she met producer and director Ronald Schwary, whom she married the following year. However, the couple divorced in November 1994. They had two children together, Brian and Neil, who have both become actors. In addition to raising her two sons, Schwary began working as a hair stylist on films. In 1986, she joined the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, or IATSE, as a Film Hair Stylist.