Kristen who was raised in the small town of Charleston, West Virginia began her acting career at a young age. Her mother managed a local theater company called Kanawha Players, and had her doing local commercials and theater. When she began Jr. High at Charleston Catholic she turned to sports and focused on running. She then went on to Ohio State and majored in Theater but soon changed it to Fashion, which lead her to New York for an internship. While in New York she began auditioning for indie films and soon that became more of a focus for her than fashion. After she graduated in 2006 from Ohio she moved to New York City to pursue her acting career full time.