Fischer was born in Hardwick, California, the youngest of four daughters of Issei (Japanese immigrants) Chukuro, a farm laborer, and Kinko Tsubouchi. During World War II, at age 10, she and her family were forcibly evacuated from the West Coast and spent time in the Fresno Assembly Center before being relocated to Jerome and Rohwer internment camps. After their release, the Tsubouchi family went to Chicago, Illinois, where, as a young adult, Tsubouchi won the crown of “Miss Nisei Queen.” She graduated from Hyde Park High School in Chicago in 1950 and attended Rollins College from 1951 to 1953, where she was a cheerleader and member of Phi Beta, a performing arts fraternity. She resides in Los Angeles.

Fischer appeared in the stage production of The World of Suzie Wong in New York in 1958. She won a Drama-Logue Award for ensemble performance for Tea at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. She has also appeared in many productions with East West Players in Los Angeles, including Into The Woods. Fischer was an honoree at East West Players’ 2019 gala for her work in raising “the visibility of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community through [her] craft.” She toured the U.S. and Europe in The Peony Pavilion in 1997.

In 1980 she married Sy Fischer, an entertainment executive and longtime agent at Hanna-Barbera.