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==Early life==
[[File:Doris Day Childhood Home, Greenlawn Avenue, Evanston, Cincinnati, OH.jpg|thumb|left|Childhood home in Cincinnati]]
Day was born Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff<ref name="nytimes" /> on April 3, 1922, in [[Cincinnati]], Ohio,<ref name="shes95">{{Cite web|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4e59795cb64440bfa2567554e1f53097/only-ap-birthday-surprise-doris-day-shes-really-95|title=Birthday surprise for ageless Doris Day: She's actually 95|last=Elber|first=Lynn|date=April 2, 2017|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404111630/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4e59795cb64440bfa2567554e1f53097/only-ap-birthday-surprise-doris-day-shes-really-95|archive-date=April 4, 2017|url-status=dead|access-date=April 2, 2017|quote=A copy of Day's birth certificate, obtained by The Associated Press from Ohio's Office of Vital Statistics, settles the issue: Doris Mary Kappelhoff, her pre-fame name, was born on April 3, 1922, making her 95. Her parents were Alma and William Kappelhoff of Cincinnati.}}</ref> the daughter of [[German Americans|German-American]]<ref>[https://www.philly.com/obituaries/doris-day-death-movies-songs-obituary-20190513.html Actress Doris Day dies at 97] Philly.com May 13, 2019.</ref><ref name="wn">{{cite news |last=Leidinger |first=Paul |date=May 13, 2015 |title=Doris Day heißt eigentlich Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff |newspaper=Westfälische Nachrichten |url=https://www.wn.de/Welt/Leute/3776715-Weltstar-mit-westfaelischen-Wurzeln-Doris-Day-heisst-eigentlich-Doris-Mary-Ann-Kappelhoff |access-date=December 28, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Doris Day profile |url=http://www.wargs.com/other/day.html |type=ancestry |publisher=Wargs |access-date=April 5, 2014}}</ref> parents Alma Sophia ([[Maiden and married names|''née'']] Welz; 1895–1976) and William Joseph Kappelhoff (1892–1967). She was named after actress [[Doris Kenyon]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Braun |first1=Eric |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hwczAgAAQBAJ&q=%22Doris+Kenyon%22&pg=PT32 |title=Doris Day |date=2010 |publisher=Orion Publishing Group |isbn=9781409105695 |language=en}}</ref> Her mother was a [[Homemaking|homemaker]], and her father was a music teacher and [[conducting|choirmaster]].{{Sfn|Kaufman|2008|p=4}}<ref name="census">{{Cite web|title=Ancestry.com|url=http://interactive.ancestry.com/2442/m-t0627-03199-April00438/34332334|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224040343/http://interactive.ancestry.com/2442/m-t0627-03199-April00438/34332334|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 24, 2021|quote=Born 1922: age on April 10, 1940, in Hamilton County, Ohio, 91–346 (enumeration district), 2552 Warsaw Avenue, was 18 years old as per 1940 United States Census records; name transcribed incorrectly as "Daris Kappelhoff", included with mother Alma and brother Paul, all with same surname}}. (registration required; initial 14-day free pass)</ref> Her paternal grandfather Franz Joseph Wilhelm Kappelhoff immigrated to the United States in 1875 and settled within the large German community in Cincinnati.<ref name="wn"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/German_Ohioans|title=German Ohioans|access-date=December 28, 2019}}</ref> For most of her life, Day stated that she was born in 1924, but on the occasion of her 95th birthday, the [[Associated Press]] found her birth certificate that showed a 1922 date of birth.<ref name=shes95 />
Day had two older brothers: Richard (1917–1919), who died before her birth, and Paul (1919–1957).{{Sfn|Hotchner|1975|p=18}} Her father's infidelity caused her parents to separate in 1932 when she was 10.<ref name="AEHotchner1976" /><ref>{{Cite news|first=Cleveland|last=Amory|title=Doris Day talks about Rock Hudson, Ronald Reagan and her own story|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GIsfAAAAIBAJ&pg=5091,1222023|access-date=August 10, 2013|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Press]]|date=August 3, 1986}}</ref> She developed an early interest in dance, and in the mid-1930s formed a dance duo with Jerry Doherty that performed in nationwide competitions.<ref name="ParishPitts2003">{{Cite book|last1=Parish|first1=James Robert|last2=Pitts|first2=Michael R.|title=Hollywood songsters. 1. Allyson to Funicello|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GlybVaD6cakC&pg=PA235|access-date=August 8, 2013|date=January 1, 2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-94332-1|page=235}}</ref> On October 13, 1937, while Day was riding with friends, their car collided with a freight train, and she broke her right leg, curtailing her prospects as a professional dancer.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Trenton Friends Regret Injury to Girl Dancer|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/anonymous-celebrity-clipping-oct-18-1937-241850/|access-date=April 3, 2017|work=Hamilton Daily News Journal|date=October 18, 1937|page=7}} {{Free access}}</ref><ref name="BrowneBrowne2001">{{Cite book|last1=Browne|first1=Ray Broadus|last2=Browne|first2=Pat|title=The Guide to United States Popular Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U3rJxPYT32MC&pg=PA220|access-date=August 8, 2013|year=2001|publisher=Popular Press|isbn=978-0-87972-821-2|pages=220–221}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Broken leg perils career of Cincinnati Dancer--Girl, 16, Is Injured On Eve Of Trip To Hollywood|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18891829/oct-15-1937-doris-day-train-accident/|access-date=March 7, 2022|work=Cincinnati Enquirer|date=October 15, 1937|page=22}}</ref>
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