Ora began performing at open mic sessions around London and, occasionally, in her father's pub. She grew up in Notting Hill, in West London, and attended a performing arts school, Sylvia Young Theatre School. They relocated to London, England in 1991, when she was a baby.
Her family left Kosovo for political reasons, because of the persecution of Albanians initiated with the disintegration of Yugoslavia. She was born as Rita Sahatçiu ( pronounced surname derived from the Turkish word saatçi, which means 'watchmaker'), but her parents later added Ora (which means 'time' in Albanian) to the family surname so it could be easily pronounced. Ora has an older sister, Elena, and a younger brother, Don. Her mother, Vera ( née Bajraktari), is a psychiatrist and her father, Besnik Sahatçiu, is a pub owner, having previously studied economics.
Ora was born in Pristina, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Kosovo), to Albanian parents.
