Mya Marie Harrison was born on October 10, 1979 in Washington, D.C. to an accountant mother named Theresa and a musician father named Sherman Harrison. From her mother's side, she inherits the Italian blood while from her father's she owns the African American heritage plus the artistic blood. After she was born, two other boys named Chaz and Nijel were also born to the family. As a child, Mya took interest in art, mainly dancing. She also took course in playing violin and singing but dancing took most of her time. Before she emerged as a teen, she had joined a dancing group called 'Tappers With Attitude' which gave her the experience of performing. Upon leaving the group, she traveled to New York to study dance theater in Harlem. The jolly teen attracted the attention of Broadway choreographer, Savion Glover, that she quickly became his favorite student. Mya would later on got the first job that she liked and good at, dance instructor.