 Vale was born on January 30, 1944 at the Jerome War Relocation Center to actor Kiyoshi Conrad Hamanaka and Mary Takaoka of the Vaudeville group Taka Sisters (Myrtle, Mary, Midi).The Taka Sisters broke up after the murder of Vale's aunt Midi Taka in 1936.Vale has two younger sisters; musician/singer Lionelle Hamanaka, and children's author and illustrator Sheila Hamanaka.