A native of Chicago, Illinois, Lisa Raye was born Lisa Ray McCoy on September 23rd, 1967. She attended Eastern Illinois University, and had a short-lived marriage that left her as a young, single mother to her daughter. Lisa Raye stayed out of the spotlight and didn't pursue a showbiz career; her foray into film only occurred after a roommate of hers encouraged Lisa Raye to audition for a local movie called Reasons.

Lisa Raye flubbed her audition for the three-line role she was trying out for, but impressed director Monty Ross so much that she ended up landing a lead part. Reasons had trouble finding a distributor and went largely unseen when it was released in 1996, but Lisa Raye received acclaim for her work, and was thereby encouraged to try