A proper country gal, Reba Nell McEntire was born on March 28, 1955, in McAlester, Oklahoma. In her autobiography, "Reba: My Story," the musician wrote that she "was very close to" her maternal grandmother, "Reba Estelle Brassfield ... I am her namesake, of course, and I truly adored her."
Little Reba was one of four children, between her younger sister Susie and two older siblings, sister Alice and brother Pake. The whole family lived on a cattle ranch in Chockie, Oklahoma. According to Reba's Country Music Hall of Fame bio, the property was 8,000 acres. Her dad, Clark McEntire, was a champion calf roper and her mom, "Jackie, was a powerful singer and a strong influence." In addition to watching her dad perform at rodeos, Reba also helped out on the cattle ranch. She told Southern Living, "Early in the morning, before daylight, Pake and I would go get the horses out of a 40-acre pasture. And then by the time we got back, Daddy had breakfast, which was eggs and bacon, and cowboy bread and gravy."
Beyond a good work ethic with the family, Reba began to showcase her singing skills. In a Christmas play at her school, first-grade Reba made her first official singing appearance with "Away in a Manger." The star posted a photo on Facebook of her, also in first grade, singing in front of her classmates. According to the caption, this was Reba's initiation to singing using a microphone.
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