Shara McGlinn was born in Lake Huntington, New York, to Stephen and Rosalie McGlinn. After her family moved to Florida, she attended Santa Fe Community College and then the University of Florida as an English major. She left school to begin modeling with Ford Models in Miami. That trajectory took her to New York and then Chicago, where she she fell in love with acting and began her career. Shara and her husband are both vegans and animal rights activists. They have two adopted dogs, Hamish and Arthur.