Ross was born Gail Sue Rosenblum in Indianapolis, Indiana, the daughter of Wolf Rosenblum, and was raised in a traditional Jewish family.

She worked (1975—77) as a co-editor for the poetry journal "Antaeus" (Summer 1970- final issue, Autumn 1994) published in New York City. In addition to modeling and acting, Ross is also a producer and director, with other numerous film companies as well as her own documentary film company, "GR Films".

Ross's documentaries include: Listen To Her Heart: The Life and Music of Laurie Beechman, a biography of the actor and Broadway performer, Not Just Las Vegas, about the rise of nation-wide gambling in the USA, To Russia For Love (GR Films), about the Russian Mail-order bride business, and a forthcoming book, on a specific terrible incident, involving this same "Russian Bride Business". The book is entitled: Married To A Stranger, authored by Gaylen Ross and John Connolly, published by Berkeley Publishing Group. Proposed release date: November 30, 2006. Selling The Dream: Stock Hype and Fraud, Dealers Among Dealers, on Diamond Dealers of 47th Street in New York, and the Emmy award-winning film on Swiss Banks and the Holocaust, Blood Money: Switzerland's Nazi Gold. All of these films have been screened in film festivals and TV broadcasts, in the USA and internationally.

Ross's recent work includes Killing Kasztner, a film on the work and assassination of Rezso Kasztner which depicts Kasztner, a Hungarian Jew, who negotiated with the Nazis during World War II for the release of 1,700 Jews. He was subsequently assassinated in Tel Aviv in 1957. Ross spent seven years researching and interviewing multiple individuals in order to find out the truth about Kasztner's work and murder. The film is scheduled to release in the US in October 2009.