Early Life
Spheeris was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a Greek immigrant father who owned the Magic Empire Shows circus carnival and was a side-show strong man. Her mother was a ticket taker for a traveling circus side show. Spheeris is the sister of singer Jimmie Spheeris and the first cousin of musician Chris Spheeris, and the Greek-French director Costa Gavras, who she says makes her consider that there is something to the genetic aspects to the job description Spheeris spent her first seven years traveling around the American South and American Midwest with her father's carnival. She majored in film and has a Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater Arts from UCLA in Los Angeles, California.
Read more about this topic: Penelope Spheeris
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