Born in 1892 in Moscow, Russia. Parents -- merchants, who moved in 1895 around to Warsaw, where E. was educated as an extern and served in the school "Yehudi".

As a child E. excelled in the home and in school with declamations and acted in children's plays. Showing a desire for the stage, she learned in a Polish dramatic school and was a stand-in in the Polish theatre, but due to anti-Semitism, she left the Polish environment and debuted in Yiddish (in Peretz's one-acters) in the dramatic section of "Hazamir", under the leadership of I. L. Peretz.

1910 -- joined the "Peretz Hirshbein Troupe" and acted as "Tamara" in Pinski's "Yekl der shmid", "Elke" in Yuskevich's "In shtot", and other roles. 1912 -- performed as "Berta" in Gordin's "Der umbakanter", in Vilna with "amateurs" (future member of the "Vilna Troupe") under the direction of Jacob Ben-Ami, and 1913 -- participated in the Hebrew troupe "Habimah", under the direction of Nachum Zemach as "Leah" in the Hebrew offering of Dymov's "Der eybiker vanderer" during the Zionist Congress in Vienna.

At the end of 1913 she arrived in America and her participated in the Spring of 1914 in "I. L. Peretz-frimorgn", under the direction of Jacob Ben Ami ("Dos vanzinike maydl" in Peretz's "Frimorgn"), then acted in the Hebrew offering of Itzhak Katzenelson's "Trshish" (role of "Shoshana").