Eleanor Coppola - Early Life

Early Life

Eleanor Coppola was born Eleanor Jessie Neil on May 4 1936, to an Irish-American family in Los Angeles, California. Her father was a political cartoonist for the Los Angeles Examiner who died when she was 10 years old. She was raised by her mother in Sunset Beach, California. She graduated from UCLA with a degree in applied design and was a member of the women’s fraternity Alpha Chi Omega (Alpha Psi chapter).

While working on the set of the 1962 horror film Dementia 13, she met her future husband Francis Ford Coppola. Her position was Assistant Art Director, while Coppola was making his directorial debut with the film. The couple had been dating for several months when Eleanor discovered in 1963 that she was pregnant. Initially Eleanor considered giving the baby up for adoption, but was convinced otherwise by Francis Ford Coppola. The couple married in Las Vegas that same year and gave birth to their first son Gian-Carlo Coppola. Years later, Eleanor gave birth to Roman and Sofia Coppola.