Merav Gruer was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe the daughter of entrepreneurs Shlomo and Pnina Gruer and has two younger brothers, Tahl and Ronn Gruer. Merav was offered the part of Jude Roth in "A World Apart" after auditioning for the role. She emigrated to the United States at age 12 years where she completed her high school education and continued on to college and graduate school, earning degrees in Social Work and Marital and Family Therapy. She married in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in 2005.