Norman Garbo is the son of Maximilian W. and Fannie Garbov. He was born in New York, New York. It is here that Garbo attended City College (now known as the City College of the City University of New York) from 1935-37 planning to earn a degree in advertising. But after his second year, he began taking night courses in the Academy of Fine Arts in Brooklyn. Garbo began working as a portrait painter in 1941 and also worked as a writer and lecturer. In 1941, he joined the military with the coming of World War II. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces where he achieved the rank of lieutenant.

Garbo married on April 15, 1942. The couple's son and only child is named Mickey. Garbo resided in Sands Point, Long Island in New York State.