Betty Livanou was born in Athens, in Plato's Academy, to a family with roots from Asia Minor and Egypt. Before she even finished school, young Betty found herself working in advertising, posing for print ads and acting in film spots, while after finishing school she worked for a year as a model.

Although she had been receiving offers to act in films since she was young, she was not particularly interested. However, when, at the age of 20, she was called by Filopoimin Finos and Yannis Dalianidis, everything changed. The two “masters” of cinema had noticed her in a cigarette commercial in which she was pantomiming and had been captivated by her face.