Many stars have a rough road to fame, and this was certainly the case for Halsey. The 27-year-old singer was born Ashley Nicolette Frangipane on September 29, 1994 in Edison, New Jersey. Halsey is the daughter of Chris and Nicole Frangipane, and the older sister of Sevian and Dane Frangipane. Halsey’s parents have become so proud of all that the Grammy-nominee has accomplished. The couple have also become grandparents to Halsey’s son Ender Ridley, who was born in July 2021.
Halsey has a good relationship with their parents now — but that wasn’t always the case. In fact, Halsey was kicked out of the house by Chris and Nicole after dropping out of college. Below, learn about Halsey’s parents and the singer’s complicated upbringing.
Halsey’s Parents, Chris & Nicole Frangipane
Halsey’s dad, Chris Frangipane, manages a car dealership. He is of African-American and Irish ancestry. The singer’s mother, Nicole Frangipane, works as an EMT and is of Hungarian and Italian descent. Chris and Nicole dropped out of college when they learned that Nicole was pregnant with Halsey, who was born in September 1994 in NJ. To make ends meet, the couple worked several jobs at once like as a hospital clerk, a security guard, and car salesman while moving around a lot, according to Rolling Stone. “I grew up in a really chaotic household,” Halsey told the publication in 2016. “There was always shit being thrown.” Halsey began getting into drugs while enduring bullying at school, which led to a suicide attempt at the age of 17. Chris and Nicole learned about the attempt from Halsey, and they responded by sending their daughter to a psychiatric hospital for 17 days. Halsey was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the time — as was Nicole. Halsey has previously said that as a child, they’d be fed ice cream for dinner during Nicole’s manic episodes.
Halsey eventually graduated from Warren Hills Regional High School in Washington, NJ in 2012, and then enrolled in the Rhode Island School of Design. However, Halsey dropped out because of financial difficulties and enrolled in community college. But when they dropped out of community college, Halsey was kicked out of the house by their parents. “They just didn’t agree with a lot of things about me,” the singer told Rolling Stone. Halsey then lived in basements in NJ and NYC with a group of “degenerate stoners” that they met through their then-boyfriend of two years. “I remember one time I had $9 in my bank account, and bought a four-pack of Red Bull and used it to stay up overnight over the course of two or three days, because it was less dangerous to not sleep than it was to sleep somewhere random and maybe get raped or kidnapped,” Halsey said. They would also occasionally stay with their grandmother in NJ.
Eventually, Halsey pursed music and became the famed singer we know them as today. During that time period, Halsey was able to make amends with their parents, though the details on how that came to be are unknown. In 2020, Halsey told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, “Families go through cycles, and my father and I have a really great relationship now. We never didn’t, there was a time where I wasn’t being receptive to any male energy in my life.”
In recent years, Halsey has put their parents out there in the public. Halsey took to Instagram to wish their dad Chris a happy birthday in September 2020, as well as a happy Father’s Day several months prior. In the latter post, the “Colors” songstress said, “Your most special day of the year, since I was born 4 days after your birthday and demanded all the attention of that week ever since. I love you and I’m grateful for everything you have blessed me with.” Halsey also took Chris as their date to the 2017 Grammy Awards.
Meanwhile, Nicole joined Halsey at the Billboard’s Women in Music red carpet event in New York City on December 9, 2016. The mother-daughter duo posed for photos together and both looked so gorgeous. Nicole wore a black dress for the event, while Halsey stunned in a cut-out white gown. Per reports, Halsey and Nicole also have matching tattoos together.