Nancy Spungen - Early Life

Early Life

Spungen was born at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Franklin "Frank" and Deborah Spungen. She was born with severe cyanosis and nearly died of oxygen deprivation after being choked by her umbilical cord during delivery. She was spared from brain damage and released from the hospital eight days after birth. The Spungens were a middle class Jewish family that resided in Lower Moreland Township, a suburb of Philadelphia. Her father was a traveling salesman; her mother later owned an organic food store called The Earth Shop in nearby Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.

She was a difficult baby, throwing crying fits and temper tantrums late into childhood. At three months old, she was prescribed a liquid barbiturate by a pediatrician, but her violent behavior persisted. In an interview, Deborah Spungen stated, "I know it's normal for babies to scream, but Nancy did nothing but scream."

She scored "superior" on an intelligence quotient test at five years of age, and was allowed to skip the third grade. Though she excelled academically, she had few friends during her elementary school years.

She was a temperamental child who exhibited violent behavior toward her younger sister, Susan, and brother, David. She allegedly threatened to kill a babysitter with scissors, and attempted to batter her psychiatrist, who accused her of "acting out" for attention. At age 11, she was expelled from public schooling when she was absent from class more than two weeks. Her parents, weary of her erratic behavior, enrolled her at the Devereux Glenholme School and Devereux Manor High School. In January 1972, she ran away from Devereux Manor and attempted suicide by slitting her wrists with scissors. When Spungen was 15, her psychiatrist diagnosed her with schizophrenia.