Anthony Strollo was born in New York City, the son of Calabrian immigrants Leone and Giovannina Nigro. Strollo grew up in Manhattan near the Manhattan Bridge. Strollo had two brothers, Emilio and Dominick. He married a woman named Edna Goldenberg who bore him several children. Strollo was a cousin of Pittsburgh crime family mobsters Dante and Lenny Strollo, both members of the Youngstown, Ohio faction. Strollo was of medium height and weight with sandy brown hair. Associates described him as usually having a doleful look. Strollo's legitimate job was that of a real estate salesman.