Eliz­a­beth Bel­lak (née Ari­ana) was born into upper-mid­dle class Jew­ish fam­i­ly in Staw­ki Poland. She was a child actress once called ​“the Pol­ish Shirley Tem­ple.” Her sis­ter Renia was killed after being round­ed up and forced into the ghet­to in Prze­mysl Poland. Eliz­a­beth sur­vived after she and her moth­er fled to War­saw and then to Aus­tria ​‚final­ly com­ing to New York City where still lives today.