Olivia Jean

Olivia Jean Markel White (born February 23, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She is known as the lead singer and guitarist of the all-female garage-goth rock band the Black Belles. Early life Olivia Jean Markel was born on February 23, 1990, to Brent O. Markel and Julie V. (Philippo) Markel. She has an older sister, Sarah, a younger brother, Brent, and a younger sister, Katlyn who died in 2019. Her paternal grandmother, Patricia (Berdon) Markel is of Filipino descent. Jean was raised in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Her parents encouraged their four children to be creative. For her seventh birthday, Jean got her first guitar and started teaching herself to play. Shortly after that, as an Elmwood Elementary second grader, she formed her first band called Broken Glass. On April 16, 2003, when she was 13, Jean's mom took her to Detroit's Masonic Temple for her first concert to see the White Stripes. That same year, she created a fan webpage dedicated to the White Stripes called Olivia's Peppermint Palace.