Her father was the school superintendent in San Jose before he joined a company that published college textbooks.

Ainsworth attended Madam Plesse's School for Girls in Seattle and studied journalism at Mills College in Oakland.

[3] Dancer Robert Galer and Ainsworth formed a partnership to operate a hat shop on Hollywood's Sunset Strip.

The company expanded to six locations before adding a wholesale operation that supplied hats to May department stores.

[1] Actors represented by her included Guy Madison, Marilyn Monroe, Rhonda Fleming, Carol Channing and Howard Keel.