 Everard was born Harriette Emily Woollams in Marylebone, London, the eldest of at least seven children of John Woollams, a builder and paper stainer (from the family that owned the Woollams wallpaper company), and his wife Harriet "née" Graves.She was raised partly by her aunt and her husband, Emily and Frederic Aumonier.Everard was her grandmother's maiden name.