Penn Badgley

Badgley was born on November 1, 1986, in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Duff and Lynne Murphy Badgley. His father had worked as a newspaper reporter and then as a carpenter and home builder, and was the Green Party candidate for governor of Washington in 2008. An only child, Badgley attended Woolridge Elementary (where his mother served as a PTA president), before he transferred to St. Christopher's School in Richmond, Virginia. He attended Charles Wright Academy in Tacoma, Washington.

As a child, Badgley was involved with the Seattle Children's Theatre and the Pine Nut Players community theater in Monroe, Washington. His mother supported his acting efforts, and worked various jobs (later, beginning a business in jewelry design with Badgley's godmother, Jan Sneed). He stated that he "skipped high school altogether" and at age 14, he took a proficiency exam and began attending Santa Monica College. He was later accepted to the University of Southern California, but deferred admission due to contractual obligations, later enrolling for two years at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Badgley is said to have been home schooled alongside Blake Lively, his future co-star and partner. His parents divorced when he was 12. He recalls having "wanted to make music... as a 12-year-old", and recorded an unreleased pop single in 1998, referring in an interview to the effort as "terrible" and "misguided".