Early Life and Background Diane Arbus, born on March 14, 1923, in New York City to a family of Jewish immigrants from Soviet Russia, experienced an upbringing markedly different from many of her peers. Her parents, David Nemerov and Gertrude Russek Nemerov, owned Russkes on Fifth Avenue—a prestigious department store—providing her with considerable financial stability during the Great Depression’s formative years. This privileged circu…