Meet Michael Dell’s Parents: Lorraine Charlotte Dell and Alexander Dell

Michael Saul Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, was born on February 23, 1965, in Houston, Texas.

He is 60 years old. Raised in a middle-class Jewish family, Dell developed an early fascination with business and technology.

By age eight, he attempted to take a high school equivalency exam to accelerate his entry into the business world. As a teenager, he earned money through part-time jobs and invested in stocks.

He frequently experimented with computers—most notably at age 15, when he purchased an Apple computer solely to take it apart and understand its components.

Dell’s parents, Alexander Dell, an orthodontist, and Lorraine Charlotte Dell (née Langfan), a pioneering stockbroker and the first woman to serve as a broker at the Houston office of Paine Webber, fostered an environment that emphasized education, financial literacy, and ambition.

Their dinner table conversations often revolved around economics and investing, shaping Michael’s early mindset. He grew up alongside two brothers: Steven Dell, the eldest, and Adam R. Dell, who later became a venture capitalist.

Dell attended Herod Elementary School and Memorial High School before enrolling at the University of Texas at Austin in 1983 as a pre-med student to satisfy his parents’ hopes for a medical career. However, his passion for computers quickly took precedence.

In 1984, at age 19, he dropped out to focus on his growing business, originally named PC’s Limited, which would eventually evolve into Dell Technologies, one of the world’s largest technology companies.

Michael Dell has been married once, to Susan Lieberman Dell. The couple met on a blind date in 1988 and married on October 28, 1989. They live primarily in Austin, Texas, and have four children: Zachary Dell, Juliette Dell, Alexa Dell, and Kira Dell.

Dell maintains a private personal life, and there is no public record of prior marriages or significant dating history. He is approximately 5 feet 6 inches (about 168–170 cm) tall.

Lorraine Charlotte Dell

Lorraine Charlotte Dell, Michael‘s mother, was born on August 5, 1937, in New York City and became a pioneering figure in finance as well as a devoted family matriarch.

As a stockbroker, she broke barriers by becoming the first female stockbroker at the Paine Webber office in Houston. Her career exposed young Michael to the world of investments and business from an early age—dinner table conversations often revolved around stocks and economic affairs, sparking his lifelong interest in entrepreneurship.

Lorraine, Michael‘s mother, married Alexander Dell in 1959 after graduating from Baruch College. The couple moved several times early in their marriage before settling in Houston in 1962, where they raised their family.

Described in her obituary as “happy, perceptive, caring, and loyal,” she was deeply involved in the community, serving on boards for organizations like the Jewish Community Center, the Anti-Defamation League, MD Anderson Cancer Center, The Aspen Institute, and the Houston Symphony.

She was seen as the “guiding light” of the family, steering her sons toward admirable paths. Tragically, Lorraine Charlotte Dell, Michael‘s mother, passed away peacefully at home on February 13, 2014, at the age of 76, after years of medical challenges. She is remembered fondly by friends and family for her warmth and devotion.

Alexander Dell

Alexander Dell, Michael‘s father, was an accomplished orthodontist who built a successful private practice in Houston that spanned over 30 years. Like many in his family, he valued professional achievement and hoped his sons would pursue careers in medicine.

Michael initially enrolled in pre-med at the University of Texas to please his parents, though he soon diverted to building computers in his dorm room. Alexander provided a stable and supportive career that afforded the family a comfortable life, allowing Michael to experiment with early business ventures, such as selling newspaper subscriptions and stamp collecting.

Despite initial concerns about Michael‘s unconventional path (including surprise visits to his college dorm to check on his studies), Alexander and Lorraine ultimately supported their son’s ambitions.

Today, Dr. Alexander Dell serves as a board member of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, which his son and daughter-in-law established in 1999 to focus on children’s health, education, and family economic stability. His continued involvement highlights the close-knit nature of the Dell family.

Though Michael Dell forged his own revolutionary path in technology, the values instilled by his mother, Lorraine, and his father, Alexander—hard work, curiosity, and a drive for success—undoubtedly contributed to his rise as a billionaire innovator and philanthropist.