April Michelle Bowlby was born on 30 July 1980 in Vallejo, California, USA. She and her family moved to Manteca, California, when she was a small child. April studied ballet, French and marine biology at Moorpark College, before deciding to pursue an acting career. She studied drama with Ivana Chubbuck before landing her first role in a major television series ("Kandi" in Two and a Half Men (2003)) within weeks of her first Hollywood audition.