Liz was born in Los Angeles, California. Her stepfather, Joseph, and her mother, Josephine Marian Mitchell (surname Jenkins), were both lawyers in Dallas. In 1970, Liz and her mother moved to Dallas, Texas. Her mother married Joseph Mitchell in 1975. Liz graduated from Washington High School in The Performing and Visual Arts Department. She was the eldest of the three sisters. In 1991, she received a bachelor's degree in acting from Stephens College and also studied at the Anglo-American Theatre School. Liz worked at the Dallas Theater Center for six years and encore Theater for one year.
