Simone was born by the name Eunice Kathleen Waymon in North Carolina.
She was inspired as a child by Marian Anderson and began singing at the local church, showing her great talent as a pianist.
Her first public show, a piano recital, was made at the age of ten. Her parents, who had taken seats in the front row, were forced to move to the back of the hall to make way for the white people. This incident contributed to her later involvement in the civil rights movement.
Simone's mother was a strict Methodist minister; her father, was a handyman and sometime barber who suffered bouts of ill-health.
Mrs. Waymon worked as a maid and her employer, hearing of Nina's talent, provided funds for piano lessons for the little girl.
Finally, a local fund was set up to assist in Eunice's continued education.At the age of seventeen, Simone moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she taught piano and accompanied singers.
She was able to begin studying piano at New York City's prestigious Juilliard School of Music but lack of funds meant that she was unable to fulfill her dream of becoming America's first Black classical pianist. She later had an interview to study piano at the Curtis Institute, but was rejected. Simone believed this rejection, which fuelled her hatred of racism, was because she was black.
