Sara Bareilles

Sara Beth Bareilles was born on December 7, 1979, in Eureka, California, United States. Her father, Paul Bareilles, is an insurance adjuster, and her mother, Bonnie Jean (née Capellas), is a funeral home worker. She has two elder sisters, Stacey and Jennifer, and a half-sister, Melody. Bareilles has Swiss-Italian ancestry through her paternal grandmother, French and Italian ancestry through her paternal grandfather, and Portuguese ancestry through one of her maternal great-grandmothers. She also has English and German ancestry. She speaks some Italian and lived in Bologna for a year during college. Bareilles's parents divorced when she was 12 years old, and her mother later married Ron Halvorsen. Bareilles was raised Catholic and attended parochial school until junior high, when she transferred to public school. She still attends Mass with her family when she visits her hometown. She participated in the high school choir, Limited Edition, and local community theater musical productions, including her high school's production of Little Shop of Horrors, in which she appeared as Audrey. After graduating from Eureka High School in 1998, Bareilles studied communication studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was a member of the co-ed a cappella group Awaken a Cappella; she can be heard on their album Dysfunktional Family, singing her original selection "Gravity" and "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5. The group's rendition of "Gravity" was featured on the Best of College a Cappella 2004 compilation CD. Bareilles and Maroon 5 have been acquainted since their college days at UCLA, when the band was known as Kara's Flowers. She performed in the annual student concert UCLA Spring Sing, winning twice. She taught herself to play multiple instruments, including the piano.