Mouskouri's childhood was stamped by the German Nazi occupation of Greece. Her father became part of the anti-Nazi resistance movement in Athens. Mouskouri began singing lessons at age 12. As a child, she listened to radio broadcasts of singers such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Edith Piaf. In 1950, she was accepted at the Conservatoire. She studied classical music with an emphasis on singing opera.