Born Yvonne Marie Antoinette Jasme in Savannah, Georgia, Haines was of French-Irish descent. Her mother Mildred JaMais (February 15, 1899 – January 7, 2010) died about sixteen months after her daughter, shortly before her 111th birthday.\n', '

She began performing at age 4 as a singer in Pick Malone\'s Saucy Baby Show in Savannah, and by age 9 had a regular radio show performing as "Baby Yvonne Marie, the Little Princess of the Air". Her professional debut in New York came at the Roxy Theatre when she was 14.\n', '

After a number of regional successes and winning the Major Bowes contest, she was hired by Harry James, who asked her to change her name. In 1981, she recalled: "He said you don\'t look like Yvonne Marie Antonette Jasme. And there would be no room on the marquee for me. You look like a Connie to me." She became the lead singer on The Abbott and Costello Show from 1942 to 1946. She later joined Tommy Dorsey, and Haines credited Dorsey with developing her style further. Haines performed in a number of films, including Duchess of Idaho.\n', '

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