Moira Lister was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1923 to army Major James Lister and his wife, Margaret. She made her London stage debut at 14. In 1951, she married Jacques de Gachassin-Lafite Vicomte d'Orthez, a descendent of a distinguished French-Belgian family and a French cavalry officer. They had two daughters, Chantal and Christobel.