The daughter of Vince Lilley, a judge, and Ellen Lilley, a director of marketing/event planner, Jen Lilley was born on August 4, 1984 in Roanoke, Virginia. She had wanted to become a singer since childhood and, in 2001, she garnered the National Educators award in Guatemala by giving multiple concerts for underprivileged Guatemalan youth. In the late summer of 2007, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. Lilley devotes her spare time to charities focusing on children, homelessness, and the world water crisis.