Thordis Brandt was born in Germany of Norwegian and German parents. She moved to Canada as a young girl and was raised there. After school, where she completed a University degree in nursing, she moved to Santa Monica, California. As she pursued acting and dancing as careers, she continued to practice her nursing in private duty. One of her jobs in private duty was serving actress Patricia Neal. Ms. Neal recommended Thordis to other actors and actresses, thus Thordis became known as the “actor’s nurse.” After retiring from acting, she continued nursing in Beverly Hills.