Early Life. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City on Oct. 11, 1884. Her parents, Elliott and Anna Hall Roosevelt, were members of socially important families, and she was a niece of President Theodore Roosevelt. She had an intensely unhappy childhood. Her mother, widely known for her beauty, made fun of Eleanor for her plainness. Her father, whom she adored, was an alcoholic and often absent. Her parents died when she was still quite young, and she was raised strictly by her Grandmother Hall.