cynthia ann crawford was born in dekalb, illinois, on february 20, 1966, the daughter of john daniel crawford and jennifer sue crawford-moluf (née walker). she has two sisters, chris and danielle, as well as a brother, jeffery, who died of childhood leukemia at age 3. she has stated that her family has been in the united states for generations and that her ancestry is mostly german, english, and french. by appearing in an episode of "who do you think you are?" in 2013, she discovered that her ancestors included english nobility and continental royal families of the middle ages and that she was descended from charlemagne.