Brett Favre was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, the son of Bonita Ann (née French) and Irvin Ernest Favre, and raised in the small town of Kiln.
Both of his parents were schoolteachers in the Hancock County School District.
He is of part French ancestry.
One of his ancestors is Simon Favre, a Creole and an influential figure in Spanish West Florida in the late 18th and early 19th centuries; Brett descends from Simon's Choctaw Native American mistress, Pistikiokonay, and thus his grandfather was affiliated with the Choctaw.

Brett was the second of four children and attended Hancock North Central High School, where he played baseball and football.
Favre started for the Hancock North Central baseball team as an eighth-grader and earned five varsity letters.
He played quarterback, lineman, strong safety, placekicker, and punter in a primarily option, run-oriented offense coached by his father, Irvin Favre, who was the head coach of the Hawks football team.

Irvin Favre said he knew his son had a great arm but also knew that the school was blessed with good running backs.
As a result, in the three years Brett was on the team, his father ran the wishbone, a run-oriented offense.
Favre rarely threw more than five passes in a game.
Southern Mississippi assistant coach Mark McHale, who was scouting new football recruits for the school, watched Favre play during a Hancock North Central football game after receiving recommendation from many nearby coaches.
McHale, observing Favre mostly hand the ball off in running plays in the two games he watched, was set on leaving when he suddenly saw Favre throw the ball in such a captivating way that he later described it by saying the ball "had smoke and flames coming off it."
Brett Favre was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, the son of Bonita Ann (née French) and Irvin Ernest Favre, and raised in the small town of Kiln. Both of his parents were schoolteachers in the Hancock County School District. He is of part French ancestry. One of his ancestors is Simon Favre, a Creole and an influential figure in Spanish West Florida in the late 18th and early 19th centuries; Brett descends from Simon's Choctaw Native American mistress, Pistikiokonay, and thus his grandfather was affiliated with the Choctaw.
Brett was the second of four children and attended Hancock North Central High School, where he played baseball and football. Favre started for the Hancock North Central baseball team as an eighth-grader and earned five varsity letters. He played quarterback, lineman, strong safety, placekicker, and punter in a primarily option, run-oriented offense coached by his father, Irvin Favre, who was the head coach of the Hawks football team.
Irvin Favre said he knew his son had a great arm but also knew that the school was blessed with good running backs. As a result, in the three years Brett was on the team, his father ran the wishbone, a run-oriented offense. Favre rarely threw more than five passes in a game. Southern Mississippi assistant coach Mark McHale, who was scouting new football recruits for the school, watched Favre play during a Hancock North Central football game after receiving recommendation from many nearby coaches. McHale, observing Favre mostly hand the ball off in running plays in the two games he watched, was set on leaving when he suddenly saw Favre throw the ball in such a captivating way that he later described it by saying the ball "had smoke and flames coming off it."
Brett Favre