Early Life
The Andrews sisters were born in Minnesota to a Greek immigrant father Peter Andreas (probably an Americanization of Petros Andreou) (1884–1949), and a Norwegian American mother Olga "Ollie" (née Sollie) Andrews (1886–1948).
Patty, the youngest and the lead singer of the group, was only seven when the group was formed, and just 12 when they won first prize at a talent contest at the local Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, where LaVerne played piano accompaniment for the silent film showings in exchange for free dancing lessons for herself and her sisters. Once the sisters found fame and settled in California, their parents lived with them in a Brentwood estate in Los Angeles until their deaths. Several cousins from Minnesota followed them west. The sisters returned to Minneapolis at least once a year to visit family and friends and/or to perform.
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