Born in Chicago, Illinois where her father, Robert F. Slutz, Jr. earned a Ph.D.in History from the University of Chicago, Pamela Slutz moved to Washington when her father joined the United States Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research in 1952.
Ambassador Slutz is married to Ronald J. Deutch, a Foreign Service Officer who retired in 2002; they were a tandem Foreign Service couple for 24 years.