Ghica family
He was born in Bucharest, into the Ghica family, the son of Ioan Ghika (1873–1949) and Elena Metaxa (1870–1951), and great-great-grandson of Grigore IV Ghica, Prince of Wallachia. He started his secondary studies at the Gheorghe Lazăr High School in Bucharest. In 1917, he left with his family for Paris, completing his secondary studies at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in 1920. He then entered the University of Paris (the Sorbonne) with a major in mathematics, graduating in 1922. In 1929, he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics from the Faculté des Sciences of the University of Paris.