Brown was born on March 4, 1993, at
Saint Barnabas Medical Center in
Livingston, New Jersey, to singers
Whitney Houston and
Bobby Brown. Through her mother, Brown was related to many singers and entertainers: her maternal grandmother was singer
Cissy Houston of
The Drinkard Singers; her mother's cousins were singers
Dee Dee Warwick, Brown's uncle was former professional basketball player
Gary Garland, her mother's half-brother. Through her father, Brown had six half-siblings: Landon, La'Princia, Robert "Bobby" Jr., Cassius, Bodhi, and Hendrix. Her godmother was gospel singer
CeCe Winans and her godfather was music executive
Clive Davis. Brown grew up in front of cameras, appearing beside Houston during an interview with
Barbara Walters at eight months old, and appearing aged one on stage at the
1994 American Music Awards, when her mother accepted an award. Her vocals were featured on her mother's 1998 song "
My Love Is Your Love" for the
album of the same title. When her mother brought her to the recording studio and held her up to the microphone, she said "Sing, mommy," which can be heard during the first verse of the song; she says, "Clap your hands!" at the end of the track. Brown was featured on her mother's 2003 Christmas album, titled
One Wish: The Holiday Album, on "
The Little Drummer Boy". When Brown's parents divorced in 2007, her mother was awarded custody.
The Guardian writer Caroline Sullivan characterized Brown's childhood as difficult because of her parents' drug problems.
TheWrap stated, "Brown grew up under the media glare, with her family issues playing out in a very public way." The media also scrutinized Brown's weight;
BET,
Essence, and the
Daily Beast all wrote articles commenting and speculating on Brown's fluctuating weight. Author
Mark Bego characterized Brown's teenage years as "no picnic", because of the media focus on her and her "extreme growing pains" because of that. ==Adult life==