At an early age she decided to follow a career as an actress and, after a period living with her father in New York, Cilento won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and moved to England in the early 1950s.
At an early age she decided to follow a career as an actress and, after being expelled from school in Australia, she schooled in New York while living with her father. She later won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and moved to England in the early 1950s.