Gina Grant was born in 1976 in Lexington, South Carolina, to Charles Grant and Dorothy Mayfield. She had an older sister, Dana. Gina's father passed away from lung cancer when she was 11 years old, an event that profoundly affected her. Following his death, Gina's mother, Dorothy, reportedly struggled with alcoholism and was allegedly abusive towards Gina. Friends and school officials noted instances of Gina appearing with unexplained bruises and injuries. Despite these challenges, Gina excelled academically, serving as her school's first female student body president in the eighth grade and aspiring to become a Supreme Court justice or a doctor. ​

On September 13, 1990, a confrontation between 14-year-old Gina and her mother escalated over Gina's relationship with her boyfriend, which her mother had forbidden. During the altercation, Gina struck her mother multiple times with a crystal candlestick, resulting in her mother's death. She then attempted to stage the scene to appear as a suicide by placing a knife in her mother's neck and wrapping her mother's fingers around the handle. Initially, Gina provided conflicting accounts to the authorities but eventually admitted to the act, citing self-defense due to ongoing abuse. In January 1991, Gina pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to juvenile detention until the age of 18. She served approximately eight months before being released on probation. ​

After her release, Gina moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to live with her aunt and uncle. She enrolled at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, where she continued to excel academically and participated in various extracurricular activities, including serving as co-captain of the tennis team and tutoring underprivileged children. In 1994, Gina applied to Harvard University, presenting herself as a student who had overcome significant personal hardships. She was granted early admission in January 1995. However, in April of that year, Harvard rescinded her admission after receiving anonymous information about her past conviction. The university cited misrepresentation in her application as the reason for their decision. ​