Adele was born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins on May 5, 1988, in Tottenham, London. She was the daughter of Mark Evans, a Welsh plumber, and Penny Adkins, who was only 18 at the time of her birth. By the time Adele was 3 years old, Mark had deserted his family, leaving her mother to raise her daughter single-handedly. Adele developed a passion for music and started singing at a young age. Adele’s childhood idol was The Spice Girls, the popular British girl group who greatly inspired her to become a singer. She grew up in a neighborhood of Tottenham, which is considered one of the most ethnically diverse areas in England. Being around so many people from different cultures had a huge effect on her musical tastes. As Adele got older, she became interested in a wide variety of music, including R&B, soul, rap and heavy metal