[3] Born in Wisconsin,[4] Siegel attended Ohio University, where she was a sportswriter for the student newspaper.
[3] After graduating with a master's degree in English, she moved to Montreal in 1970 to study French at McGill University.
[1] After completing her studies, she decided to stay in Canada, becoming a Canadian citizen and working in various roles in film, including assistant camera credits on the films East End Hustle, The Rubber Gun and Happiness Is Loving Your Teacher.
In this era she also had numerous credits as a casting director, including on the films Train of Dreams, Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller, Princes in Exile and Vincent and Me.
[3] She has also taught film studies courses at John Abbott College and the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema.