Zohra Lampert was born on May 13, 1937 in New York City of Russian Jewish immigrants. She attended New York's High School of Music and Art and then the University of Chicago. From 1955, she began performing on stage and in bit roles on television. Alongside her TV and film roles, Zohra continued performing on stage. She was twice nominated for the Tony award for two Broadway productions, in 1961 for Look: We've Come Through and in 1963 for Mother Courage and Her Children.