Sarah attended Daneshill School, Stratfield Turgis. The staff of the school described her as a "courageous, bubbly and outgoing little girl". She then attended Hurst Lodge School in Ascot. She did not shine academically but showed talent in swimming and tennis. At a young age, she developed an interest in skiing and later briefly worked as a chalet girl. After finishing a course at Queen's Secretarial College at the age of eighteen, Sarah went to work for an art gallery. Later she worked in two public relations firms in London, and then for a publishing company. During her youth she dated Kim Smith-Bingham, a stockbroker, and Paddy McNally, a motor racing manager more than 20 years her senior.