Early lives

   The Sprouses were born in Arezzo, Italy, to American parents Matthew Sprouse and Melanie Wright, who at the time were teaching at an English language school in Tuscany. Dylan, named after poet Dylan Thomas,^[7] is 15 minutes older than Cole,^[8] who is named for jazz singer and pianist Nat King Cole.^[9] The boys moved back to the United States four months after their birth. They grew up in their parents' nativeLong Beach, California. Their parents divorced in 1997.