Born as Yoon-hwa in South Korea in 1974, she became Petra Zwart of the Netherlands at the age of 1. Her adoptive Dutch family provided a warm and welcoming home to both Zwart and her biological brother, who was adopted at age 5. Even so, Zwart recalls finding it difficult to fit in as a child, due to her East Asian appearance being different, "like an ugly duckling." She and her brother were among the nearl.