Rexha was born in Brooklyn, New York City to ethnic Albanian parents from the Yugoslav Socialist Republic of Macedonia who emigrated to the United States during the 1980s. Her father is from Dibra e Madhe and her mother is from Gostivar. She is the first of her family to be born in the United States. Her first name, Bleta, means "honey bee" in Albanian, which is why she uses the nickname "Bebe".
