Lestat de Lioncourt was born in the year 1760, during the reign of Louis XVI, in Auvergne, France. He was the youngest of three sons although his mother had given birth to four other boys and one girl--none of whom survived childhood. His father was the Marquis as well as a blind man.
Being the youngest of three, Lestat had no prospects; any land or money that his father left behind after he died would likely go to his eldest brother, Augustin, and his family. At the age of twelve, Lestat was being educated in a monestary and decided he wished to enter the order as a brother. Of course, his father and brother completely dismissed the idea and not only dragged him away from the monestary, but ended his education. When Lestat reached the age of sixteen, a band of traveling Italian actors came to the village performing a play which involved two lovers--Isabella and Lelio. Lestat absolutely adored the play and took on the part of Lelio and loved performing so much that he decided to leave with the actors when they took leave of his village. Unfortunately, when he awoke the not many days later, he found his brothers waiting for him and all the actors gone. When Lestat is twenty he can only read and write his own name and a few prayers; at the age of twenty-one the villagers come to him complaining about wolves in the area. Lestat, feeling no fear, goes out to kill the wolves with his two mastiffs and mare. He succeeds in killing the eight wolves and as a consequence meets a young man named Nicolas de Lenfent, a violinist. Lestat's dying mother, Gabrielle, encourages Lestat to start a friendship with Nicolas and later she encourages Lestat to leave with Nicolas (Nicki) and go to Paris, as she wants to die knowing her son is free. Lestat gets a job in a theatre in Paris but not as an actor but as a backstage assistant. Months later, he is given the chance to go on stage and then offered a job as a profesional actor, due to the audience's initial adoration of him. Lestat grows even more popular with both the audiences and the critics who describe him as, "the blond-haired rogue who steals the hearts of the ladies in the third and fourth acts." Lestat's life is going perfectly for him and he is utterly happy until he starts to feel as though a mysterious white face in the audience is continually watching him. Lestat is kidnapped by the mysterious face, whose name is revealed, Magnus and is held prisoner until Magnus decides to turn him into a vampire.
