Born Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro on February 5, 1985, in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, a small island off the western coast of the country, Ronaldo is the youngest of four children born to Maria Dolores dos Santos and Jose Dinis Aveiro. He was named after Ronald Reagan, a favourite actor of his father's.
Ronaldo grew up in a largely working class neighborhood, his home a small tin roofed shack that overlooked the ocean. His early life was shaped by hardship; his father, a gardener, often drank too much, and eventually died from kidney problem at age 52 in the year 2005 when the Ronaldo was at age 20. To help keep the children fed, and maintain some financial stability, Ronaldo's mother worked as a cook and cleaner.
Ronaldo grew up in a largely working class neighborhood, his home a small tin roofed shack that overlooked the ocean. His early life was shaped by hardship; his father, a gardener, often drank too much, and eventually died from kidney problem at age 52 in the year 2005 when the Ronaldo was at age 20. To help keep the children fed, and maintain some financial stability, Ronaldo's mother worked as a cook and cleaner.