On July 20, 1964, Christopher John Cornell was born in Seattle, Washington. Although he was born as Christopher John Boyle and would later adopt the surname Cornell from his mother Karen, a self-proclaimed psychic of Jewish descent.

Chris’s father was of Irish Catholic descent, so Cornell attended a Catholic elementary school during his early years. Cornell was born into a family of 5 siblings and despite attending a strictly religious school, started to show early signs of troublesome behaviour.

Coming out of the baby boom era of America, Cornell’s neighbourhood was full of other children of all ages. Chris would spend most of his time hanging out with kids older than him and being exposed to darker temptations.