Edward Snowden is responsible for the biggest intelligence leak in the history of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). Hailed by some as a heroic whistleblower, he is considered a traitor and a spy of China in the eyes of others.

Edward Snowden [file photo]

Despite the great controversy surrounding him, the question remains as to what we actually know about this 29-year-old former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee? Here we take a look at Snowden's life as it unfolded before he entered the public spotlight.

Family

Edward Snowden grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina. His father was an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and his mother a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. He has one older sister, who is an attorney.

Before leaving for Hong Kong, Snowden resided in Oahu, Hawaii, with his girlfriend, a former pole dancer who now works for an acrobatic troupe.

It's not believed that his girlfriend has had any part in or knowledge of his plans to leak the NSA details, but the agency still paid her a visit in light of his disappearance.

During an online Q&A with The Guardian newspaper on June 17, 2013, Snowden said he would like for everyone to stop talking about his girlfriend and concentrate on the "largest program of suspicion-less surveillance in human history."

That same day, in an interview with Fox News, Snowden's father urged him to return home and not to leak any more information.