Potter, one of four daughters,[2] was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to an Irish American Roman Catholic[2][3] family. Her father, Paul Brokaw, was the inventor of the first flame-resistant car wax, and her mother, Nancy, was a secretary.[2] During her childhood, she was a part of the St. Jerome Parish in Cleveland, and attended the local elementary school, as well as Villa Angela Catholic School for Girls, before graduating from Euclid High School.[4] She also spent part of her early years in Arab, A