Early Life
Wentz was born Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III, in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. He is the son of Dale (Lewis), a high school admissions counselor, and Pete Wentz II, an attorney. His mother's family immigrated from Jamaica. His Black maternal grandfather, Arthur Winston Lewis, served as the U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone; Arthur Winston Lewis' cousin is General Colin Powell.
Wentz' parents met while campaigning for now-Vice President Joe Biden in the 1970s. Wentz recalled in a Rolling Stone interview that his earliest musical memory was listening to The Foundations' song "Build Me Up Buttercup" in the back of his father's car. Wentz attended New Trier High School and North Shore Country Day School, where he was an all-state soccer player. He considered pursuing a professional career in the sport, but decided that music was a more fulfilling choice; he says that he "always had a magical connection to the ball. But it didn't feel like an adventure. Music was more of a challenge and, in the end, felt more interesting."
During his freshman year of high school, he began skipping school regularly, and a school counselor convinced his parents to send him to boot camp to straighten him out. During this time, Wentz began writing songs as a way to vent his frustrations. He began taking piano lessons afterwards, and adopted a straight edge lifestyle. However, he now drinks occasionally. After graduating from high school in 1997, he attended DePaul University where he studied political science, dropping out one quarter shy of graduation to focus on his music career.
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