Gilda Ann Barabino was born in Anchorage, Alaska on May 28, 1956. Both her mother, Margaret Agnes Barnes Barnum, and her father, Norman Edward Barnum III, were originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. Barabino's father was in the US Army and stationed in Alaska at the time of her birth. The family moved frequently during her childhood. After her father retired, the family returned to New Orleans. Barabino's mother went back to school and became a nurse's aid, working at Charity Hospital. Her father took a job in the Veteran's Administration, while studying for a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Southern University at New Orleans.
