Eleanora Fagan was born on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Sadie Fagan, was 13 and her father, Clarence Holiday, was 15. She was raised in Baltimore with her mother while her fathered pursued his music career. Her father nicknamed her "Billie" because she was a tomboy and never was interested in the girly things.

Ever since Billie was a little girl she loved the sound of jazz especially the blues. She loved the voices of Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong. Even her father was in a jazz band.

At the age of 15 Billie and her mother moved to the big city of Harlem, New York. Billie didn't know yet but she soon would be following her dreams.

Billie and her mother went through many financial struggles, her father was never around due to his music career and her mother was always with different men. So, Billie would do many things for money. One was singing in clubs and restaurants

While Billie was signing at a club one night a big time manager was there, he was blown away by Billie. After her performance he spoke to her and ask her to come to the studio so they could record some music together