Prince was born Prince Rogers Nelson, on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father was John Lewis Nelson who was a Jazz singer-songwriter. His mother was Mattie Della Shaw. His family was from Louisiana. His ancestry was 60% white and 40% African American with a little bit of Native American ancestry, despite he was a black artist. He had epilepsy when he was younger. His sister was Tyka nelson. He played basketball when he was in high school.