Glaser was born 22 February 1920 in
Neuchâtel, Switzerland to Willy Albert Glaser (1891–1949), a
hotelier and
restaurateur, and Alice Glaser (
née Aeberli), originally from
Schaffhausen. Her father operated several hotels during his career most notably the
Hotel Terminus in
Spiez and the
Hotel de la Poste in
Bern. Her mother was the first woman in Bern to drive an
automobile and she formed a
women's automobile club. Her paternal family immigrated to Switzerland from Germany in the 1840s and became citizens of
Niederhünigen in 1855. Her paternal grandfather, Dr. Georg Glaser–Schmid, a
psychiatrist was the general director of the Psychiatric Hospital in
Münsterlingen. After some time in England and at finishing school, she studied acting at the
Reinhardt-Seminar in Vienna. == Career ==