Pink was born on September 8, 1979, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, to Judith Moore (née Kugel),[citation needed] a nurse, and Jim Moore, a Vietnam veteran.[5] Her father is Catholic and her mother is Jewish,[6] and her ancestors emigrated from Ireland, Germany, and Lithuania.[7] Pink grew up in Doylestown, where she attended Kutz Elementary School, Lenape Middle School, and Central Bucks High School West. Her father played guitar and sang songs for her, and from an early age she aspired to be a rock star. Pink has a brother, Jason Moore (born 1977).[8] In high school, Moore joined her first band, Middleground, the band folded upon losing a battle of the bands competition. Pink developed her voice early in life. Although a healthy baby at birth, she quickly developed asthma that plagued her through her early years.[9] When she was a teenager, she wrote lyrics as an outlet for her feelings, and her mother commented, "Her initial writings were always very introspective. Some of it was very black, and very deep, almost worrisome."[9] She began performing in Philadelphia clubs when she was 14 years old, and went through phases as a skateboarder, hip-hopper and gymnast. At 16, together with two other teenage girls, she formed the R&B group Choice. They landed a deal with L.A. Reid and worked with various producers for two years, never releasing a record, before Reid persuaded Moore to go solo. Her stage name "Pink" was coined as a tribute to the character Mr. Pink from the film Reservoir Dogs.[10]
