Emma Matzo (Ema Macová in Slovak) was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the oldest of six children born to Mary Penyak and John Matzo (Ján Maco in Slovak). Several conflicting accounts have been given as to her parents' ethnic origins, with most mentioning English, Rusyn, Russian, and Ukrainian. The family lived in the Pine Brook section of Scranton, where her father owned Matzo Market. Scott characterized her father as a "lifelong Republican", which influenced her capitalistic views. The love of music influenced Scott's voice.[how?]
Scott attended Marywood Seminary, a local Catholic girls' school. She transferred to Scranton's Central High School, where she performed in several plays. After graduating, she spent the summer working with the Mae Desmond Players at a stock theater in the nearby community of Newfoundland. She then worked at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. That autumn, she attended Marywood College, but quit after six months.
In 1939, with her father's help, the 17-year-old Scott moved to New York City, where she stayed at the Ferguson Residence for Women. In New York she was a model for the Walter Thornton agency. Scott read Maxwell Anderson's Mary of Scotland, a play about Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I, from which she derived the stage name "Elizabeth Scott." She later dropped the "E".

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