Alan McElroy was born in Cleveland, Ohio, attended Hawken School in Gates Mills, Ohio, and planned on becoming a novelist while majoring in psychology at Boston University, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and at Miami's European campus in Luxembourg. Shortly after graduation and marriage he taught himself to write his first screenplay from an article in Writer's Digest magazine. McElroy then moved to Los Angeles with his wife, Kymm, and one script in hand, and was picked as one of thirty individuals to join the Columbia Pictures Writing Program. From that experience he acquired an agent and began writing full-time. McElroy made his directorial debut with "Under the Car" for the Discovery Program. Alan McElroy has a daughter, Ashleigh, son, Matt, and daughter Mackenzie. His wife, Kymm is an artist and homemaker.