Debbie Gibson - Early Life

Early Life

Debbie Gibson was born in Brooklyn, New York, the third daughter of four for Diane and Joseph Gibson. She grew up in the Long Island suburb of Merrick and was raised Catholic. At the age of five, she began performing in community theater with her sisters Karen, Michele, and Denise, and cousin T.J Normandin and wrote her first song, "Make Sure You Know Your Classroom". At age eight, she sang in the children's chorus at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. She began playing the ukulele and taking piano lessons soon after, including with American pianist Morton Estrin. She said that her household was probably the only one where bystanders would hear kids fighting over piano playing time.