Susan Douglas Rubes is an Austrian-born actress and producer. She was born Zuzka Zenta in Vienna, Austria, the daughter of Alfred and Charlotte Burstein.

When she was young, her parents moved to a ranch in central Bohemia, Czechoslovakia. Her family took her to the theater or opera in Brno, and on occasion, they would visit Zuzka's maternal grandmother in Vienna, who was the manager of the Burgtheater. She began studying ballet at the age of eight.