Ethel Merman

Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage.

Merman was born Ethel Agnes Zimmerman in her maternal grandmothers house located at 359 4th Avenue in Astoria, Queens, in New York City in 1908, though she would later emphatically insist that it was actually 1912. Her father, Edward Zimmermann , was an accountant with James H. Dunham amp Company, a Manhattan wholesale drygoods company, and her mother, Agnes Zimmermann , was a teacher. Edward Zimmermann had been raised in the Dutch Reformed Church and his wife was Presbyterian. Shortly after they married, they joined the Episcopal congregation at Church of the Redeemer, where their daughter was baptized. Her parents were strict about church attendance, and she spent every Sunday there, at morning services, followed by Sunday school, an afternoon prayer meeting, and an evening study group for children. Her family was of German and Scottish ancestry.

Source: Wikipedia