One of four children, Lorraine Hunt was born to parents who were both involved with opera in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her mother, Marcia, was a contralto and music teacher and her father, Randolph, taught music in high school and college. She performed as a child in Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hänsel & Gretel", as a gingerbread boy. She returned to opera after taking part in a charity performance of the same work at a prison, this time taking Hänsel's role. After this performance, she auditioned for the Met, at age 29.