Astrid Amann Goodstein was born deaf to deaf parents on February 6, 1944. Her parents are Frank and Alice Amann. She is the second deaf child out of three children. Her siblings are Franklyn Amann and Paula Chance. She first attended the Hosford Day School in Portland, Oregon. After being educated in the restrictive oral method, she was transferred to the Oregon School for the Deaf where they used sign language as the main mode of communication. She transferred to the California School for the Deaf, attending for five years, and graduating in 1960 at age 16. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Library Science in 1965 and completed her education with a M.A. in Teaching English at the Secondary Level in 1967. During her college years, she was involved with The Buff and Blue, Tower Clock, Student Body Government, played varsity hockey, basketball, and volleyball. She was also an active member of the Phi Kappa Zeta sorority and reigned as Kappa Gamma queen. After completing graduate school, she taught English at Kendall School, then at Gallaudet. She later became Executive Director of Enrollment Services at Gallaudet and retired from this position in 2003. She is married to Harvey Goodstein and has three sons, Jon, Matt, and Ryan.