Family Tree Tuesday – Linda Ronstadt

Linda Ronstadt is a popular American recording artist and is recognized as one of the most versatile and commercially successful female singers in U.S. history. Once dubbed the Queen of Rock, Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award and a Tony Award nomination.

Ronstadt was born on July 15, 1946 in Tuscon, Arizona to Gilbert Ronstadt, a prosperous machinery merchant, and Ruth Copeman. Her father was descended from a pioneering Arizona ranching family, who greatly contributed to Arizona’s history. Her grandfather, Fredrick August Ronstadt, was a prominent business man and cultural leader in Tuscon, Arizona. He formed the F. Ronstadt Hardware and Machinery Company, which quickly became the largest business of its kind in southern Arizona. He was also a guitarist and a vocalist and formed Tuscon’s first professional orchestra, the Club Filarmonico Tucsonense, in 1896.

Looking back even further into history, you learn that her third great grandfather, Agustín Vicente Zamorano, was once the provisional Governor of Alta California. He is best remembered for being the first to bring a printing press to California.

Luisa Espinel

Interestingly, Linda’s maternal grandfather, Lloyd Groff Copeman, was a prolific American inventor. He held several hundred patents to his name, and is credited with devising the first electric stove, an early form of the toaster and a flexible rubber ice cube tray.

It’s no coincidence that Linda pursued a career in music. In addition to her paternal grandfather’s musical inclinations, her aunt, Luisa Espinel, became an internationally known musician and leader in the preservation of Spanish songs and dances.

Check out Linda Ronstadt’s family tree and see how you’re related!