Roz Michaels was born to first-generation American parents, whose grandparents had immigrated from Italy and Hungary. Her father, Michael, was a successful painting contractor and avid gardener, renowned for his award-winning roses. Her mother, Myra (nee Pusty),was born in Pennsylvania and tragically lost her father in a coal-mining accident when she was just six months old. Raised in Bayonne, Roz's mother met and married Mike, and the couple worked in the retail fashion trade, with Myra serving as a buyer and manager.
Roz has one sibling, a sister named Carolyn, and attended Our Lady of Victories Catholic Grammar School and Henry Snyder High School, graduating in 1965. Following high school, Roz's parents encouraged her to pursue a career in acting, and she attended the Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School in New York City instead. Roz's first marriage, to a childhood sweetheart, produced three children: Michael, Scott, and Bruce. The couple divorced after eleven years, and Roz later married a Canadian, moving to Ontario with her children in the process.
Despite her desire to perform since childhood, Roz didn't pursue her passion until her mid-thirties, when a friend encouraged her to audition for a local play. She landed a role and discovered her true calling, eventually transitioning from stage to film work. Roz's late start and slow beginning were more than made up for by the joy and fulfillment she found in her profession.
Roz has been remarried since 1991 to her "soulmate," Tony, and the couple moved to Toronto in 1997.
