Born in Piermont, New York, Klein spent her childhood years in Rye, New York. She attended Milton Elementary School and graduated from Rye High School in 1978. She received a B.A. in musical theatre from Syracuse University in 1982, moving soon after to New York City to begin a successful career in musical theatre.
Klein died of breast cancer, aged 45, in Suffern, New York, in 2006. She was survived by her parents, Lois and Jonas Klein; her sister Betsy Couture; her widower Jim Fyfe and their daughter, Hailey Klein Fyfe.
