Erin Howie was born in Norwood, Massachusetts. She knew she wanted to be an actress when she was three because she loved story-telling.

Howie graduated from Boston University in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism. Howie moved out to Los Angeles in 2002, hoping to become a film and television actress. She had many jobs (selling cars, working as a bank teller, as a nanny, waitressing, selling pharmaceuticals.