格拉迪斯·麦克克鲁尔，Gladys Ethel McClure was born on August 5, 1914, to Samuel Hugh McClure and Flora Parthenia McClure of Fort Worth, Texas. She attended Tenth Ward School in Ft. Worth and a finishing school in Chatham, Virginia. Gladys moved to Beverly Hills, California, to make her home with her sister, actress Adrienne Ames.