 Norman says that though she was German-born, in the 1960s she used to tell people that she was Norwegian.Drane's mother was Eva Spielhagen, née Thiel (1901–1989).She is described by writer Philip Norman as having been an early 1960s model "with impish looks and a rangy physique that perfectly set off the new 'fun' fashions of young designers like Mary Quant."