The youngest of four children, Peterson was born to Arthur and Tressa Hill Peterson. Her father was a Doctor and her mother a homemaker. Aside from The Andy Griffith Show, Peterson also appeared on other TV shows such as Love American Style, Green Acres, Gomer Pyle USMC, and The Odd Couple. She appeared in an episode of Mayberry R.F.D. as Edna, a cafe waitress; in the 1986 movie Return to Mayberry; as the innocent Rose Ellen in the 1969 film The Love God?, starring next to Don Knotts; and in the 1968 film Angel in My Pocket.