Frank Sinatra almost never survived traumatic birth which left him scarred for life

During Frank Sinatra’s birth in 1915, there were many complications and it was almost fatal, but luckily a family member saved the day.

The music star had a traumatic birth. Frank was thought to have been stillborn and had scarring on his face due to the trauma caused by coming into the world. According to his official website, he “entered the world fighting for his life–and he won.”

Inside Frank Sinatra’s traumatic birth

Frank was born on December 12, 1915, and weighed a whopping 13 and a half pounds. The doctor who delivered the celebrity had trouble getting him out and had to use forceps. However, this caused an injury on Frank’s cheek, neck, and ear; they were all tugged at and ripped. His eardrum was also punctured.

For the rest of his life, the New York, New York singer had a scar on his cheek and he reportedly wore a heavy amount of makeup to cover it up. It’s also said he disliked being photographed on that side of his face. He was given the nickname Scarface due to the lasting impact of the birthing injury.

After Frank was born, the doctor was caring for his mom and believed the baby wouldn’t make it as he stopped breathing. But his grandmother, who was a trained midwife, took action. She held the newborn under cold water, slapped him on his bottom and he took his first breath and began to cry. If she hadn’t stepped in after the traumatic birth story, Frank Sinatra may never have been.

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Did Frank Sinatra ever speak about his birth?

Frank Sinatra did speak about it during his time alive. He said of his birth: “They weren’t thinking about me, they were just thinking about my mother. They just kind of ripped me out and tossed me aside.”

Later, his fourth wife, Barbara, wrote in her book Lady Blue Eyes: My Life With Frank Sinatra about his near-fatal experience as a baby. She said that it made him live as if “every day was his last.”

“He never lost his humor about it, though,” she wrote, “and he wasn’t ready to give up just yet. The person who’d defied the odds from his near-fatal birth and lived every day since as if it was his last was not going to go gently into that good night.”

Frank wanted to ‘prove his mom wrong’

In 2008, Frank’s daughter Nancy, 83, told of how her dad and grandmother would have arguments over the years. Apparently, Frank’s mom didn’t necessarily approve of his career choice, though, that “drove” him.

Speaking to Tom Santopietro for his book Sinatra in Hollywood, she explained: “They’d fought through his childhood and continued to do so until her dying day. But I believe that to counter her steel will, he’d developed his own.

“To prove her wrong when she belittled his choice of career. Their friction first had shaped him; that, I think, had remained to the end and a litmus test of the grit in his bones. It helped keep him at the top of his game.”

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Larita Shotwell

Update: 2024-02-09

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