Valerie Marron was born Valerie Merians on October 22, 1955. She was the daughter of Ron Merians, who ran and owned the hugely popular and successful music bar the Joyous Lake in Woodstock, New York from 1970 to 1979. Marron's parents divorced when she was three years old and her mother subsequently remarried. Alas, Valerie's stepfather started abusing her from the age of six. Marron was shipped off to a boarding school at age fourteen. She eventually ran away at age sixteen and headed for Manhattan, where she wound up living on the streets.