Jay Brannan was born on March 29, 1982 in Austin, Texas. His father was a petroleum engineer, while his mother was a teacher. Brannan spent his childhood in Austin and had wanted to become a successful singer. While growing up, he had to struggle with his sexuality. He had found out he was gay. Brannan came out to his family, who were conservative Baptists and had a rough time accepting his sexuality. Brannan took a college course in Cincinnati, Ohio. He only had done one year of college.