Lynda Carter

 Carter was born in Phoenix, Arizona, the daughter of Juanita (nee Cordova) and Colby Carter.Her father is of English and Scots-Irish heritage as is her mother. Her father, whose family hailed from Mexico is of Mexican, Spanish, and French descent. One brother, Vincent, and one sister, Pamela, are her siblings. Carter, age 5, made her debut on public television on Lew King's Talent Show. Carter was a member of Just Us during high school. The group used conga drum, marimba, an acoustic, stand-up bass, and an electric. One of the girls in the group also played guitar. At age 15, Lynda began singing at the local pizza parlor to earn money.  She joined her cousins' group, The Relatives, when she was just 16 years old. The band's drummer was Gary Burghoff, an actor. The group opened in the Sahara Hotel and Casino lounge in Las Vegas for three months; because Carter was not yet 21 years old, she had to enter through the kitchen.Carter went to Arizona State University. She was named "Most gifted" and decided to venture into music. In 1970, Carter auditioned and then did a the road together with The Garfin Gathering and bandleader Howard (Speedy) Garfin. Their first concert together was in the Holiday Inn Chinatown in San Francisco in 1970, which was so new it didn't even have a sidewalk entrance. They played mostly to hotel guests and hotel staff, who had their cars parked underground. The Garfin Gathering toured the Nevada "Silver Circuit" performing shows in most of Nevada's casinos and lounges in between Lake Tahoe, Carson City, Reno, and Las Vegas. Carter quit the Garfin Gathering for acting, and returned home to Arizona in 1972.