Carrie-Anne Moss was born in Burnaby, British Columbia. Her parents are Barbara and Melvyn Moss. She has an older brother, Brooke. Moss' mother reportedly named her after The Hollies' 1967 hit song, "Carrie Anne", which had been released in May that year. Moss lived with her mother in Vancouver as a child. At the age of 11, she joined the Vancouver children's musical theatre and later went on to tour Europe with the Magee Secondary School Choir in her senior year.