 Nell Brinkley was born in Denver, Colorado in 1886 (some sources say 1888), but her family soon moved to the small town of Edgewater on Denver's western border, facing Sloan's Lake at Manhattan Beach.As a small child, she drew place-setting illustrations of knobby-kneed kiddies for Mary Elitch's garden parties at Elitch Gardens.She had no formal arts training, and dropped out of high school to pursue a career in illustration.