As a teenager, Emmy attended a performing arts high school called Governor's School for the Arts. She then went on to Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where she attended school while working as a professional actress. She graduated with a bachelor of arts in theatre in 2012, though at that point she had already been part of the touring production of Hair. This eventually led to her being cast as a replacement standby for the lead role of Elphaba in the 2014 touring production of Wicked.