Dennice Cisneros was born in San Jose, California, and is a first generation Mexican-American. Her father, Manuel, is a contractor and her mother, Lourdes, is an elementary school teacher's aide. Driven from an early age, Dennice fell in love with the stage by participating in plays and dance recitals. She attended a performing arts high school, and graduated with a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts, from San Francisco State University with magna cum laude honors.