American actress Emily Ann Banks was born in Norfolk, Virginia, but spent much of her childhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her father served in the military (he later found work as a graphic artist).
After high school, Emily graduated from Simmons University in Boston and then embarked on a brief career as a model. This culminated in her election as ‘Miss Rheingold’ in 1960. She made several ads for the beer brand and featured as a model on a game show in 1963. On screen from 1966, Emily featured rarely on the big screen.