Teruko was born in Toronto, Ontario, to a Japanese mother and Swedish father (her name is pronounced TEH-ru-ko and means "sunshine" in Japanese).
She bought her first "real" guitar (read: not plastic) at thirteen and spent many hours alone in her room teaching herself how to play. It was time well spent for music became a lifelong passion, the guitar a source of comfort and a best friend. She has since added many guitars to that original one!