Emily Tugaw was born in Northern California and raised in the beautiful wine country of Sonoma County. At the early age of eight, Emily knew that performing was her calling. In her elementary years she pursued a career in modeling at Marla Dell Talent Agency in San Francisco. She graced the covers of games as well as clothing magazines like LL Bean Catalogue. At the age of 13, she toured through Germany and Austria with the Santa Rosa Children's Chorus' Concert Choir. She continued to do theater all the way through High School and then moved to Raleigh North Carolina to study Acting and Musical Theater at Meredith College. She continued her studies of her craft at the Meisner Technique Studio for three more years and then went back to Marla Dell Talent Agency in San Francisco to start putting her skills to the test. In a short amount of time, Emily booked commercials, an independent film and a TV pilot.