Claudia Speicher was born in Huntington, Indiana and grew up on the family farm in North Manchester, Indiana. She was the valedictorian of her high school class and earned a bachelor's degree in music at Manchester College, where her instruments were piano and saxophone. She also played in a jazz group.
After graduation, she moved south, settling in New Orleans and worked as an accountant at a law firm before she became a talent agent, building a client base in Louisiana.