Anne Treisman was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. Two years later, her family moved to a village near Rochester, Kent where her father, Percy Taylor, worked as chief education officer during World War II. Her mother, Suzanne Touren, was French. At the age of 11, Treisman moved with her family to Reading, Berkshire where she attended the girls’ grammar school Kendrick School. The English educational system at the time forced Treisman to choose only three subjects in her last two years at secondary school, and Treisman focused on the language arts (French, Latin and History).