Biography

Born in the same city as actor Keanu Reeves.

He is the third of five children. Mika was born Michael Holbrook Penniman, Jr. in Beirut, Lebanon, to American parents. Mika's mother, Mary Joan (Mouakad), was born in New York, to Syrian/Lebanese immigrants, Odette Farah and John Mouakad (Mika's maternal grandmother was from Beirut). Mika's father, Michael Holbrook Penniman, was born in Jerusalem, Israel, to American parents, Dorothy (Dyar) and William Frederick Penniman III, who had English ancestry; at the time of Mika's father's birth, Mika's grandfather was working as an oil executive in the region.

His favorite songs are "Everywhere" by Fleetwood Mac, "Singing In The Rain" by Gene Kelly, "Loser" by Beck, "Don't Wait Too Long" by Madeleine Peyroux, "Iko Iko" by The Dixie Cups, "Everybody's Talkin'" by Harry Nilsson, "All Good Things" by Nelly Furtado, "Missionary Man" by Eurythmics, "Non Je Ne Regrette Rien" by Édith Piaf and "This Song Has No Title" by Elton John. (Source: BBC Radio 2 "Tracks of My Years").

Attended the Lycée Francais Charles de Gaulle, Westminster School and Royal College of Music in London.

Mentioned that his first name means "plastic bag" in Moroccan Arabic and that his four siblings all have unusual first names as well.

I'm not a great dancer. I know I'm not. But I know that I can move. I can throw shapes, just not in the right order.

I'm fascinated by religion, but I'm not particularly religious.

Hype is scary.

Never had any idols, ever. I never had any posters, nothing.

Sometimes I dress like what I want for lunch, because all I can think about is having a tuna sandwich.