Notorious RBG

Born in Brooklyn, RBG had a normal childhood but experienced tragedy in her family.

Known during her childhood by her nickname Kiki, Joan Ruth Bader was born in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood on March 15, 1933 – a time when prejudiced treatment of Jews was common, even among ethnic minorities who’d also recently arrived in the United States. Still, RBG remembers her childhood fondly.

RBG’s mother, Celia Amster Bader, was a first-generation American and one of seven children whose parents had fled the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Though Celia had graduated with top grades from high school, she didn’t go on to college. Instead, she was expected to be a loving wife, and her income as a bookkeeper was partially divested to fund her brother’s college tuition at Cornell. When it came to her own daughter, she instilled a love for learning and hoped that Kiki, at least, would attend university one day.

As a young woman, the popular but quiet Kiki spent ample time at the library and was especially fond of Nancy Drew mystery novels. She admired Nancy as an independent woman with a knack for adventure and a dominant role in her romantic relationship. Kiki also attended Camp Che-Na-Wah in the Adirondacks in the summer, and played the cello. It was a fairly normal childhood – so normal that no one at the time predicted the success she would go on to achieve.

But things weren’t always easy for Kiki. When she was two years old, her sister Marylyn died from meningitis, and her mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer when she was 13. Not wanting her friends to feel sorry for her, Kiki kept these facts about her family a secret. She also knew that she could make her mother happy by focusing on her studies. The work paid off, and Kiki was accepted into Cornell with multiple scholarships to her name. But Kiki didn’t end up attending graduation. The night before the ceremony, her mother tragically passed away.

Despite her early death, Celia remained an important inspiration throughout Kiki’s life. Kiki particularly held onto two pieces of advice from her mother: The first was to be a lady – meaning that she should never let herself be overcome by pointless emotions like anger or envy. The other lesson her mother had often repeated was to be independent. As it turns out, Kiki’s mother had exercised her own independence by saving an additional US$8,000 for her daughter’s education.