Steven Strait was born on March 23, 1986, in New York City, New York, to Jean (Viscione) and Richard Dyer Strait. He is of half-English and half-Italian descent. As a child, Steven grew up in Greenwich Village with his family, attending Xavier High School and enrolling at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting to pursue his dream as an actor.
Before being recognized as an actor, Steven gained early recognition as a model as a teenager, modeling for Details, Pop, Spoon, Surface, and Vogue. He worked with famous photographers such as Bruce Weber, Ellen Von Unwerth, and Herb Ritts. Steven's work with Weber featured him in Weber's 2001 book, "All-American: Short Stories".
Acting didn't come naturally to Steven, who didn't enjoy acting as a kid. However, his parents thought acting could be his career, and they enrolled him in classes at the Village Community School. Steven eventually caught the acting bug, performing live and realizing he could make a career out of it. This passion led him to work at the Stella Adler Acting Studio and the Black Nexus Acting Studio in New York City.
At 18, Steven graduated from Xavier High School and moved to California to pursue a career in acting. His first audition led to a role in the movie Sky High (2005),marking his acting debut. Steven then signed on to Undiscovered (2005),about a group of teenagers aspiring to be famous, and The Covenant (2006),a horror movie.
In 2008, Steven signed on to multiple movies, including 10,000 BC (2008) and Stop-Loss (2008). He also completed work on City Island (2009) in New York. Aside from fashion and acting, Steven is also known for his singing, performing a few songs in the soundtrack albums of Sky High (2005) and Undiscovered (2005).
Steven has proven himself to be a multi-tasking star, impressing critics in modeling, acting, and singing. Despite his fame, Steven claims to keep himself grounded, having already achieved success at the age of 22.