section_path: Life and career/1984–1999: Early life and family
section_name: 1984–1999: Early life and family
paragraph_text: 1984–1999: Early life and family
  
  Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson was born on October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California, to Pentecostal pastors Mary Christine (née Perry) and Maurice Keith Hudson. Both of her parents turned to religion after a "wild youth". Perry has English, German, Irish, and Portuguese ancestry. Through her mother, she is a niece of film director Frank Perry. She has a younger brother named David, who is also a singer, and an older sister, Angela.
  
  From ages three to 11, Perry frequently moved across the country as her very strict parents set up churches before settling again in Santa Barbara. Growing up, she attended religious schools and camps, including Paradise Valley Christian School in Arizona and Santa Barbara Christian School in California during her elementary years. The family struggled financially, sometimes using food stamps and eating food from the food bank which also fed the congregation at her parents' church.
  
  Growing up, Perry and her siblings were not allowed to eat the cereal Lucky Charms as the word "luck" reminded their mother of Lucifer, and were also required to call deviled eggs "angeled eggs". Perry primarily listened to gospel music, as secular music was generally discouraged in the family's home. She discovered popular music through CDs she smuggled home from her friends. Perry later recalled a story about how a friend of hers played " You Oughta Know " by Alanis Morissette, which influenced her songwriting and singing.
  
  While not strictly identifying as religious, she has stated, "I pray all the time – for self-control, for humility." Wanting to be like her sister Angela, Perry began singing by practicing with her sister's cassette tapes. She performed the tracks in front of her parents, who let her take vocal lessons like Angela was doing at the time. She began training at age nine; she was also incorporated into her parents' ministry, singing in church from ages nine to 17. At 13, Perry was given her first guitar for her birthday, and publicly performed songs she wrote.
  
  She tried to "be a bit like the typical Californian girl" while growing up, and started rollerskating, skateboarding, and surfing as a teenager. Her brother David described her as a " tomboy " during her adolescence, which Perry talks about on her song "One of the Boys". She took dancing lessons and learned how to swing, Lindy Hop, and jitterbug. Perry completed her General Educational Development (GED) requirements early at age 15, during her first year of high school, and left Dos Pueblos High School to pursue a music career.
  
  Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson was born on October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California, to Pentecostal pastors Mary Christine (née Perry) and Maurice Keith Hudson. Both of her parents turned to religion after a "wild youth". Perry has English, German, Irish, and Portuguese ancestry. Through her mother, she is a niece of film director Frank Perry. She has a younger brother named David, who is also a singer, and an older sister, Angela.
  
  From ages three to 11, Perry frequently moved across the country as her very strict parents set up churches before settling again in Santa Barbara. Growing up, she attended religious schools and camps, including Paradise Valley Christian School in Arizona and Santa Barbara Christian School in California during her elementary years. The family struggled financially, sometimes using food stamps and eating food from the food bank which also fed the congregation at her parents' church.
  
  Growing up, Perry and her siblings were not allowed to eat the cereal Lucky Charms as the word "luck" reminded their mother of Lucifer, and were also required to call deviled eggs "angeled eggs". Perry primarily listened to gospel music, as secular music was generally discouraged in the family's home. She discovered popular music through CDs she smuggled home from her friends. Perry later recalled a story about how a friend of hers played " You Oughta Know " by Alanis Morissette, which influenced her songwriting and singing.
  
  While not strictly identifying as religious, she has stated, "I pray all the time – for self-control, for humility." Wanting to be like her sister Angela, Perry began singing by practicing with her sister's cassette tapes. She performed the tracks in front of her parents, who let her take vocal lessons like Angela was doing at the time. She began training at age nine; she was also incorporated into her parents' ministry, singing in church from ages nine to 17. At 13, Perry was given her first guitar for her birthday, and publicly performed songs she wrote.
  
  She tried to "be a bit like the typical Californian girl" while growing up, and started rollerskating, skateboarding, and surfing as a teenager. Her brother David described her as a " tomboy " during her adolescence, which Perry talks about on her song "One of the Boys". She took dancing lessons and learned how to swing, Lindy Hop, and jitterbug. Perry completed her General Educational Development (GED) requirements early at age 15, during her first year of high school, and left Dos Pueblos High School to pursue a music career.