Walters was born in San Francisco, California, and was, by several years, the oldest of the eight actors playing the Bradford children, though her character, Joanie Bradford, was the third-oldest child in the family. Walters is six months older than Betty Buckley (born July 3, 1947), who played her character's stepmother. Walters' first screen role was as Sheila Grove in 1973's The Harrad Experiment.