Thordis Brandt was born in West Germany of Norwegian and German parents. She moved to Canada as a young girl and was raised there. After school, where she completed a University degree in nursing, she moved to Santa Monica, California. As she pursued acting and dancing as careers, she continued to practice her nursing in private duty. One of her jobs in private duty was serving actress Patricia Neal . Ms. Neal recommended Thordis to other actors and actresses and Thordis became known as the "actor's nurse". After retiring from acting, she continued nursing in Beverly Hills.
Son, Christopher Brandt , was born in 1982.Although they never married, she had a relationship for several years with actor James Arness .
The life of comedienne Fanny Brice, from her early days in the Jewish slums of the Lower East Side, to the height of her career with the Ziegfeld Follies, including her marriage to and eventual divorce from Nick Arnstein.