Her family moved to New York City in 1899 where her father, Avrom Gerstenman, was a translator and her mother, Meshe (née Kopps) was a dressmaker.

Her acting debut happened because her mother was working for an actor who needed a child for a production.

It was directed by Josef Berne with Gersten in the title role and Ruth Elbaum as Shaindl.

[1] Other significant Broadway productions of The Flowering Peach (1955), A Majority of One (1959), and Sophie (1963) included Gersten in the cast.

[2] Gersten is included in the 1971 work Notable American Women, 1607–1950; A Biographical Dictionary.