莉莉安·弗朗西絲·史密斯於1871年出生於加利福尼亞州科爾維爾,父母分別為小利瓦伊·W·史密斯(Levi W. Smith, Jr.)和麗貝卡·T·羅賓森(Rebecca T. Robinson),莉莉安為四個孩子中的第三子[6][7][8]。她的父母以前住在麻薩諸塞州,是在1867年才搬到科爾維爾的[6][9][10]。史密斯從7歲開始便學習射擊,10歲便已經可以和他人競賽,當時她的父親提出了5000美元的賭注,卻沒有人能夠打敗她[3]。她曾在聖路易和當代最著名的神射手之一威廉·法蘭克·卡弗(英语:William Frank Carver)同臺競賽[3]。在她15歲那年,「水牛比爾的狂野西部秀」表演團隊來到加州演出時發掘了她,於是史密斯便加入了表演團隊,並在那裏遇到了她今後的勁敵:同為表演團隊成員之一的安妮·奧克利。表演團隊很早就為兩人負責的表演項目進行「分工」,史密斯負責的是步槍射擊,而奧克利則負責霰彈槍。但實際上奧克利能夠熟練使用任何一種槍械,她會透過限制自己的行動來提高賭注[11]。史密斯善於速射,她能在短暫的時間內連續射中無數個玻璃球或盤子[11]。
雖然史密斯的墓碑上將其出生年月日標記為「1871年2月3日」,但這很可能是不正確的,因為這樣的話她便是死在自己的59歲生日當天,可能是後人捏造,藉此製造噱頭[6]。有些報紙將史密斯的出生年月寫為1871年或1872年的8月[6]。而包括「水牛比爾的狂野西部秀」公司在內,一些其他的資料來源則將她的出生年月標示為1871年的秋天[20][21]。根據茱莉亞·布里克林(Julia Bricklin)於2017年所著的傳記《America's Best Female Sharpshooter: The Rise and Fall of Lillian Frances Smith》,史密斯的出生年月日為1871年8月4日,與上述提到的時間段皆符合[1]。
Facts On File History Database (William Eagle Shirt). Lillian Smith: Credits, [2015-01-12].
^ 1.01.1America's Best Female Sharpshooter: The Rise and Fall of Lillian Frances Smith by Julia Bricklin, University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-5633-0, 2017, William F. Cody Series on the history and culture of the American West, page 15; [2017-05-09].
^Russell Martin (1983). Cowboy: The Enduring Myth of the Wild West, p. 334: "By 1887, a dozen women had joined The Wild West, including Lilian Smith, a trick shot and trick rider; "Ma" Whitaker, who portrayed the settler's wife in cabin attack scenes; Georgie Duffy, "Rough Rider of Wyoming"; and Emma Lake Hickok, ..."
^Laura Browder (2006). Her Best Shot: Women And Guns in America: "Lillian Smith, whom Buffalo Bill dubbed the Champion Rifle Shot of the World, often received equal billing with Oakley and captured an equal amount of attention from reviewers. Smith joined the show in .., and two years later an article ..."
^Ronald W. Lackmann (1997). Women of the Western Frontier in Fact, Fiction, and Film, p. 71: "By 1887, a dozen other women were also being featured in Buffalo Bill's show, but none could hold a candle to Annie Oakley as far as public popularity was concerned. One pretty equestrienne named Lillian Smith, who had joined the show in ..."