 DeMille was born Katherine Paula Lester on June 29, 1911 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.Her father, Edward Gabriel Lester (March 11, 1887 – June 25, 1917), was a Scottish-born English schoolteacher who served as a lieutenant in the 102nd Battalion, CEF during World War I and died at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917.Her mother, Cecile Bianca Bertha Colani, was of Italian descent and died in a Los Angeles hospital.