4 surprising facts about Prince, dead at 57

Prince, centre, watches an NBA basketball game, in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, March 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Through a career that spanned decades, Prince was renowned as in innovator and known for his flamboyant stage presence, his talent as singer and songwriter and his ability to re-invent himself.

Prince was born into a musical family

Prince was born into a musical family. His father was a pianist and a songwriter and his mother was a jazz singer. He was signed to Warner Brother Records as a teenager and over a 40-year career he's released 39 studio albums, several Grammy awards, an Academy Award, and a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was also ranked 27th on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Prince was a basketball player, despite lacking height

Before his music career sky-rocketed, Prince was working on a budding basketball career.

Reports from his hometown paper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, state that, although he was only five-foot-two, Prince was an excellent ball handler and a good shooter.

As a freshman, Prince made his high school's junior varsity basketball team and even coached a grade-school team.

Prince was formerly known as 'the love symbol'

In 1993, during a feud with his label Warner Bros., Prince changed his name to an invented symbol, which he referred to as "the love symbol." In 2000, when his contract with Warner expired, he went back to Prince, but for those seven years in between he was commonly referred to as "the artist formerly known as Prince."

Prince was formerly a Toronto resident

Prince married Toronto business woman Manuela Testolini in the early 2000s and the pair lived together in the city's exclusive Bridle Path neighbourhood until their divorce in 2006.

During his time living in the city, Prince spoke highly about Toronto's diversity as well as its food and art scenes.

After his divorce, Prince moved back to his native Minnesota, but he would occasionally surprise concerts in Toronto venues.