cynthia bailey was born on february 19, 1967, in decatur, alabama and raised in tuscumbia. her father, elijah, worked at an auto factory and her mother, barbara, worked at a sewing factory. barbara was 18 when she was pregnant with cynthia, and had another daughter, malorie, roughly a year later. while growing up, bailey was inspired by her grandmother, mae frankie ford. who worked in a sewing factory, sold hotdogs and hamburgers, cleaned houses, and volunteered to care for an elderly woman. she described ford as "the first female black entrepreneur in [her] life".