Lauren Neal was born in Aurora, Colorado, to Lawrence, a basketball coach and insurance salesman, and Debbie, a nurse. She is of Italian, Irish, German, English, West African, and Native American (Choctaw) descent. Lauren is a graduate of Brown University's Department of Theatre Arts & Performance Studies, where she participated in over four dozen performances and projects as a dancer, actor, writer, director, producer, designer, and/or technician.