Terranova was born in Corleone, Sicily in 1890 to parents Bernardo Terranova and Angelina Piazza. In 1893, Terranova emigrated from Sicily with his family, including his brothers Ciro and Vincenzo, arriving in New York on March 8, 1893. In 1903, Nicolo's sister Salvatrice Terranova married Ignazio "Lupo the Wolf" Saietta, who was running the Black Hand organization in Little Italy, Manhattan. Lupo went on to become underboss of the Morello crime family. In 1910, when Lupo and Giuseppe Morello were arrested for counterfeiting, Terranova, now known as Nicholas Morello, became the boss of the Morello crime family.