Riley Schmidt was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He is the son of Michael and Karen Schmidt. He began modeling at 17 when he sent some pictures to a local modeling agency during his junior year of High School at St. John Vianney in Kirkwood, Missouri. He also attended and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri where he was also a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He graduated and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting and entertainment. Within weeks he booked his first role on NBC's soap opera Passions. He would later book other guest stars on hits such as ER, Cold Case and 7th Heaven. Before he became successful at acting, Riley supported himself with a bartending company he founded called Beauty and the Bar.