Her parents were Earl Young, a railroad auditor, and Gladys Royal Young. She joined sisters Polly Ann and Betty Jane (who became the actress Sally Blane); a brother Jack came along later. One day in 1916, Earl left for work and did not come back. Gladys packed up her children and moved to Hollywood, where she opened a boarding house to support her family.
Gladys's brother-in-law, Ernest Traxler, lived nearby. An assistant director for Famous Players-Lasky, he persuaded Gladys to let her older girls become movie extras. When Gretchen turned four, she too started earning money as an extra. Her first role was as a fairy in The Primrose Ring. Mae Murray, the picture's star, liked the little girl and asked Gladys if she could come live with her. Gladys consented when "Maetsie" agreed to take Gretchen's cousin Carleen Traxler, too, and allow them to return home whenever they wanted. The two girls lived with Maetsie and her husband for over a year. Jack also went to live with another family; he never returned permanently. When Young was 10, her mother married George Belzer. The union produced daughter, Georgiana, in 1925. The couple would later remain friends after their divorce.
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