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安吉洛的出生名為瑪格麗特·安妮·約翰遜（Marguerite Annie Johnson）<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Angelou+optimism+overcame+hardships/9887987/story.html|title = Angelou's optimism overcame hardships|last = Ferrer|first = Anne|date = May 29, 2014|work = The Star Phoenix|accessdate = May 30, 2014|deadurl = yes|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140531112037/http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Angelou%2Boptimism%2Bovercame%2Bhardships/9887987/story.html|archivedate = 五月 31, 2014}}</ref>，出生地在美国[[密苏里州]][[圣路易斯市]]。她是看門人和海軍營養師貝利·約翰遜（Bailey Johnson）及護士和售卡人薇薇安·約翰遜（Vivian (Baxter) Johnson）的第二個孩子。長她一歲的哥哥名為小貝利（Bailey Jr.），後者將安吉洛暱稱為“馬婭”（Maya），這個暱稱來自“My”（我的）或“Mya Sister”（馬婭妹妹）<ref>Angelou (1969), p. 67</ref>。3岁时其父母“災難性的婚姻”走向了終結<ref>Angelou (1969), p. 6</ref>。她与哥哥被父親由火車送到[[阿肯色州]]的小镇[[斯坦普斯 (阿肯色州)|斯坦普斯]]跟随祖母安妮·亨德森（Annie Henderson）生活。雖然遭遇了[[大蕭條]]和[[第二次世界大戰]]<ref>{{Cite book|title = Racism in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings|last = Johnson|first = Claudia|publisher = Gale Press|year = 2008|isbn = 978-0-7377-3905-3|location = Detroit, Michigan|editor-last = Johnson|editor-first = Claudia|chapter = Introduction|page = 11}}</ref>，但因為經營銷售生活必需品的雜貨店的緣故，她的祖母實際上相對很富裕。馬婭·安吉洛說她的祖母“做了很精明而誠實的投資”<ref name=":0" />{{refn|group=note|根據安吉洛所述，他的祖母一開始是做為黑人勞工提供食物的大排檔生意，後來發展成了商店<ref>Angelou (1993), pp. 21–24</ref>}}{{quote box| align = left| width = 25em| quote = 了解她一生的同時你就會經不住想自己一生究竟做了些什麼，并經不住慶幸自己沒有遭受她哪怕一半的不幸。{{refn|group=note|原文為：To know her life story is to simultaneously wonder what on earth you have been doing with your own life and feel glad that you didn't have to go through half the things she has.}}| salign = right| source = 《[[衛報]]》寫手Gary Younge，2009年}} 。四年之後，其父突然回到斯坦普斯<ref>Angelou (1969), p. 52</ref>，並將兄妹幾人重新安排到聖路易斯的母亲身边生活。八歲時遭到性虐待並被她母親的男朋友弗里曼（Freeman）強姦。她將此事告訴了她的哥哥，後來全家都知道了此事。弗里曼因而被逮捕，但是只囚禁了一天便被放出。四天之後被人謀殺，兇手可能是安吉洛的叔伯之類<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yyL8oVg5qKUC&pg=PA121#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Maya Angelou's I Know why the Caged Bird Sings: A Casebook |author=Joanne M. Braxton |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 |page=121 |isbn=9780195116076}}</ref>。在那之后安吉洛突然失聲五年<ref>Lupton, p. 5</ref>。安吉洛回憶此事時說道：“我曾認為，是我的聲音殺死了他。我殺死了他，因為我說出了他的名字。之後我想我不可以再說話了，因為我的聲音會殺死人”{{refn|group=note|原文為：I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone&nbsp;...}}<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/133_wbc_archive_new/page2.shtml| title = Maya Angelou I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings|date = October 2005|accessdate = December 17, 2013|publisher = BBC World Service Book Club}}</ref>。根據安吉洛的傳記作家瑪西亞·安·吉萊斯皮（Marcia Ann Gillespie）和其同事所述，正是在這一時期安吉洛發展出了驚人的記憶力、閱讀書籍的習慣及觀察世界的能力<ref>Gillespie et al., p. 22.</ref>。