Hummel was born April 11, 1989 in Phoenix, Arizona, and spent her early years there. She subsequently relocated with her family to Merrill, Wisconsin, of which Hummel said: "I resented my parents for having moved me away from Phoenix because I thought Phoenix was much more interesting than Wisconsin. It\'s a great place and it\'s very interesting there, beautiful." Her parents are first-generation Americans, with combinations of Russian as well as German, Slovenian, and Ukrainian descent. Her grandparents immigrated to the United States from Odessa, Ukraine, and settled in North Dakota.\n', '

Inspired by singers and bands including Ian Curtis, Lydia Lunch, Diamanda Galás, Throbbing Gristle and Swans, she started to record at home, using keyboards, drum machines and other instruments. Her performing name, Zola Jesus, was derived from the French writer Émile Zola, and the Christian messiah. While studying business at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she debuted the singles "Poor Sons" on Die Stasi and "Soeur Sewer", released in 2008 by Sacred Bones Records.\n', '

She subsequently transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where graduated in 2010 with a double major in French and philosophy.\n', '

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