Pisay was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. Her parents escaped the civil war in Cambodia and she moved to Seattle, Washington at the age of two. Pisay loved the arts and began painting, drawing, dancing, and performing at a young age. When she reached her teen years her parents pushed her to excel academically. She obliged and earned a scholarship to attend the University of Washington. However after a year she found herself completely unhappy and instead decided to pursue a career in fashion, all the while continuing to dabble in the performing arts. When she graduated from design school she met a model/actress who would eventually introduce Pisay to her future agent. She booked her first national commercial within months of joining her first agency and continued to book more local commercials, and movies before making her move to Los Angeles.