Lizzo was born in April 27th, 1988, the youngest of 3 children, in Detroit, Michigan.She was born as Melissa Viviane Jefferson, to Michael Jefferson, and to Shari Johnson Jefferson. When she was 10 she moved to Houston, Texas, where she developed her love to music. There she was first exposed to freestyle rap, which would feature a lot at her later work. Her father encouraged her a lot in her early life, and one of the encouragements, was her to begin playing a flute, when she was 12.One of her first performances, was when she was 14, in a female rap group, called Cornrow Clique. When, was the time she nicknamed herself, as Lizzo. After she graduated school, she attended the University of Houston, on a music scholarship. But then she left school, after sophomore year. Her decision was motivated by choosing between two kinds of music: classical, and rap, and on the other hand by her father’s failing health.  Her father died in 2009, and after his death, she struggled with depression, mental health issues, and a poor body image.