The daughter of a Brooklyn truck driver and his wife, Rodell was a premature baby who weighed 1.5 pounds at birth.

The Henry Street Settlement and the Dramatic Workshop provided early training in drama, and she studied liberal arts at Brooklyn College.

[1] Rodell debuted as a professional actress when she worked in summer stock theatre in State College, Pennsylvania.

[5] Rodell next appeared on The Secret Storm during 1969–1970, playing Jill Clayborn,[1] until that character perished in an airplane crash.

[citation needed] She subsequently took over the role of Leslie Jackson Bauer Norris at Guiding Light, appearing there from 1971 until 1973.