 She majored in drama at the University of California, where she met her future husband.Connell began her career with her husband Gordon, entertaining in San Francisco night clubs such as "The Purple Onion" and "The Hungry I".Eventually the couple moved to New York City, where Connell made her Off-Broadway debut in the 1955 revival of "The Threepenny Opera", a long-running hit at the Theatre de Lys.