Tamzin Merchant was born in the UK, but spent part of her childhood in Dubai. She attended Windlesham School and Brighton College, and had been planning to study at Nottingham University, when she was cast in Pride & Prejudice (2005) a year before finishing her A-levels. She deferred entry to university to work on TV projects in the UK, and in the summer of 2007, filmed a role in the American ensemble drama Radio Cape Cod (2008). In addition to acting she has contributed poetry to Platforms Magazine – an online arts magazine. Since September 2007 she has been a student at Homerton College, Cambridge. Tamzin is a patron of the charity Build Africa.