Cristin Milioti was born and raised in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She is of Italian, Czech, and Irish descent, and calls her family “Olive Garden Italian”. In middle school, she found her love of acting at Long Lake Camp for the Arts in New York. She attended Cherry Hill High School East, graduating in 2003. She took acting classes at New York University, but dropped out during her freshman year. However, she is listed in the university’s advertising.