Life

JonBenét Ramsey was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but the family relocated when she was nine months old. Her first name is a portmanteau of her father's first and middle names, John Bennett; her middle name is that of her mother, the late Patricia "Patsy" Ramsey, who enrolled her daughter in a variety of different beauty pageants in several states.

In addition, she funded some of the contests in which JonBenét was involved. Patsy Ramsey was a former beauty queen, having held the title Miss West Virginia 1977; her sister became Miss West Virginia 1980.

JonBenét held a number of child beauty contest titles, including: America's Royal Miss, Colorado State All-Star Kids Cover Girl, Little Miss Charlevoix Michigan, Little Miss Merry Christmas, Little Miss Sunburst, and National Tiny Miss Beauty. JonBenet's mother, Patsy, embellished her child's pageant entry forms by saying the child spoke French and other things to make the child seem more "eligible" for pageant participation.

John Ramsey, JonBenét's father, is a former president and chief executive officer of Access Graphics, a computer services company.

In September 2008, when on Oprah, John Ramsey stated that labeling his daughter as a "beauty queen" was an unfair representation of her life, as she also participated in rock climbing, violin lessons and other activities.

JonBenét is buried in Saint James Episcopal Cemetery in Marietta, Georgia, next to her mother.