Strathairn was born on January 26, 1949 in San Francisco, California. His grandparents were Scottish. He studied at Redwood High School, at Williams College, and he studied to become a clown at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. Strathairn has been married to Logan Goodman since 1980. They have two children. He now lives in Poughkeepsie, New York.