Born and raised on outer Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Dakota Shepard is the only child of Victorine Shepard, a single mother. Dakota attended both Wilbur Cross High School and the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, Connecticut, where she studied Poetry, Prose, and Dramatic Writing. Shepard later graduated from Vassar College, where she earned a B.A. in Drama and won the Molly Thatcher Kazan Prize for excellence in Dramatic Studies.After completing two years of training with Maggie Flanigan in New York, Dakota launched a successful theatrical career in Boston, where she appeared in numerous commercials. After signing with the Boston based agency Maggie Inc., she landed the small role of Tobey Maguire's character's wife in the film Labor Day (2013), directed by Jason Reitman. Dakota recently moved to Los Angeles, where she studies with Richard Seyd.Dakota has been a proud volunteer for Camp AmeriKids, a summer camp serving children whose lives are affected by HIV/AIDS and sickle cell disease, since 2012.