Sidewinder was born on 21 December 1990 and raised in Sydney. Her mother, Lo Carmen, is a country soul singer-songwriter and actor, originally from Adelaide; while her step-father, Aden Young is a Canadian-Australian actor. Carmen and Young have had two other children. Her father, Jeremy Sparks, Carmen's then-partner, was a film set constructor and later worked as an engineer on the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony (2000), festivals and large public artworks (including "Halo"). In October 2019 she reflected on her upbringing, "I was raised by a colourful family completely entrenched in the entertainment industry; a complex group of eccentric individuals. My mother was a teenage actress who sang in bands, my dad was a set builder. My mother left my father for a wonderful woman (who was a singer). They raised me in the red light district of Darlinghurst in the 90s."