Her father was born in Hungary and came to the United States under the auspices of Carl Schurz, while her mother was from a family with roots in Breslau.
[1] She studied at Downer College before taking a position with the Milwaukee Sentinel, for whose literary section she wrote until 1904.
In 1918 she joined the staff of Theatre Arts; from 1922 until 1946 she served as its editor, significantly raising its profile and turning it into a monthly publication, instead of a quarterly one.
Eventually bedridden due to arthritis, Edith Isaacs was forced to move into a nursing home in White Plains in 1951.
Visitors in her later years included Martha Graham, who helped her to develop movements and other techniques to alleviate her suffering.