Her Parents Weren’t the Best Role Models
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien was born on April 16, 1939, in West Hampstead, as the second child to Gerard O’Brien and Catherine O’Brien, both of Irish descent. Her father, who was raised in British India, was a tax accountant and consultant. Her mother came from an Irish family of journalists. Dusty was raised in a very comfortable middle-class upbringing and went to a traditional all-girl school.
Photo of Dusty Springfield. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
But her “simple life” was disturbed by some rather dysfunctional tendencies in her family. Her father was “overweight, bespectacled and balding,” and refused to do the accountancy exams because “he really wanted to be a concert pianist.” And he never did any gardening because “there could be snakes hiding in the undergrowth.” Meanwhile, Dusty’s mother was continuously drunk and spent most of her days watching movies.