Devan was born to David and Denece Gerlach, a computer engineer and film graduate respectively. The momentous event transpired at Fort Polk (Louisiana), however the majority of her childhood was spent across Texas.Though she excelled in school, she would often forgo the trivialities of homework for the chance to instead watch movies - her passion. From a very young age, she knew that she wanted to be in them, so she made her acting debut in 1999, appearing as Kate in Cyprus Creek Elementary's rendition of the hit orphan musical, "Annie". The acclaimed production earned such noted criticisms as: "Look at my baby!" and "Sweet beer nuts, that is a loud spotlight."Following the advent of star-studded remake Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000), Devan's freshly inspired tastes began to "shift" into more serious "directions". And as she entered high school, her family of four (mother, father, older brother Shae, and self) expanded with the addition of three foster brothers (Quinn, Keith, and Farrell) and a foster sister (Kelsey), rendering her the unfortunate baby of six turbulent children. She was soon graduated from Krum High, simultaneously obtaining a cosmetology license, whereupon she worked as a hair stylist, a web technician, a student assistant, a waitress, and a film extra while completing her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing at the University of North Texas.To most of her family and friends, she is known simply as "Ninja".