Michele Anthony grew up in the music industry as her father, Dee Anthony, managed artists including Tony Bennett to Peter Frampton. She began working in his office at age 12 and by 14 she was on the road with Joe Cocker. "It was a unique childhood that really gave me an education in the music industry," Anthony told Gillian G. Gaar in She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll. She graduated from George Washington University, and also holds a J.D. from the University of Southern California. In an interview with Billboard, she named her father and Gloria Steinem as the two biggest influences in her life and credits her mother for her work ethic.
