Ernestine Amalie Pauline Rössler was born on 15 June 1861 to a German-speaking family at Libeň (), Bohemia, Austrian Empire, which is now part of the city of Prague, Czech Republic. She was baptized Catholic five days later. Her father, who called his daughter "Tini", was Hans Rössler. Before working as a shoe maker, he served as an Austrian cavalry officer. He had been stationed in northern Italy (then an Austrian protectorate), where he met and married Charlotte Goldman (Rössler), with whom he returned to Libeň. Her maternal grandmother, Leah Kohn, was of Hungarian Jewish. descent and first prophesied Ernestine's successful career.