French was born in London to Frank Orvin Percy Harrison and Muriel Clare, née Smith.

[1] Her father was an accountant who had served as a Lieutenant with the Artists Rifles regiment in the First World War.

She later appeared in daytime television shows, including two roles on The Edge of Night, The Nurses, and (briefly) All My Children.

She performed in a Broadway production of John Osborne's play Inadmissible Evidence in 1965 and was also in Help Stamp Out Marriage!

She caused a minor sensation by appearing on stage naked in The Mother Lover at the Booth Theatre in 1969, though only her back was visible to the audience.