A commoner, Evelyn was born in Camarillo and raised in the Gold Coast city of Thousands Oaks. Her father, worked as the town's city planner while her mother as a telemarketer. Evelyn studied chemical engineering at University of Santa Clara, Berkeley where she met future husband Smith II their sophomore year. After an initial relationship that ended within three months, the two reunited in 1991. The announcement of the couple's engagement was made in 1995 following Smith's decision to leave his company, Cabrillo Technologies. On November 11, 1995, Evelyn and Smith II married, and she became known as Evelyn, Duchess of Mojave.