 Born Loren Ames Denny out of wedlock in Hawaii, to a Filipino-Hawaiian mother named Camila Salinas, Taibbi was adopted from foster care at 7 or 8 years of age by Salvatore and Gaetana Taibbi and raised with the name Mike Taibbi in New York City.The surname "Taibbi" is of Sicilian and Lebanese origin.He graduated from Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1971 with Bachelor of Science degrees in English and sociology.