Linda Ronstadt was born on July 15, 1946, in Tucson, Arizona, to Gilbert Ronstadt (1911–1995), a prosperous machinery merchant who ran the F. Ronstadt Co., and Ruth Mary Copeman Ronstadt (1917–1982), a homemaker.

Ronstadt was raised, along with her brothers Peter (who served as Tucson's Chief of Police 1981–1992), Michael J., and sister Gretchen (Suzy), on the family's 10-acre (4.0 ha) ranch. The family was featured in Family Circle magazine in 1953.

Linda Ronstadt's Family Tree