Michele dilahirkan di [[The Bronx]], [[New York City]]. Dia adalah satu-satunya anak dari Edith, seorang perawat, dan Marc Sarfati, seorang pemilik [[delicatessen]].<ref name="TVG">{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lea-michele/bio/252097|title=Lea Michele: Biography|work=[[TV Guide]]|accessdate=2010-12-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=RluuXUj15lEC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA7#v=onepage&q&f=false|title=Lea Michele|publisher=ABDO|author=Tieck, Sarah|year=2011|isbn=9781617589843}}</ref> Ibunya adalah seorang [[Italia Amerika]] dan beragama [[Katolik Roma]], sementara ayahnya adalah seorang [[Yahudi Sephardik]].<ref name=rou>{{cite news|title=Little Miss Big-Time|publisher=''[[Glamour (magazine)|Glamour Magazine]]''|date=September 3, 2010|url=http://mygloss.com/fit/2010/09/03/lea-michele-loves-being-healthy/|accessdate=2010-11-02}}</ref><ref name=enin>{{cite news|last=Yuan|first=Jada|title=Choir Girl|publisher=''[[New York Magazine]]''|date=August 23, 2009|url=http://nymag.com/guides/fallpreview/2009/tv/58493/|accessdate=2010-11-01}}</ref> Michele dibesarkan sebagai seorang Kristen Katolik, dan telah menyatakan bahwa ayahnya "dengan senang hati" menghadiri gereja bersama dia dan ibunya.<ref name=tcea>Stated on ''[[Inside the Actors Studio]]'', 2012. Starting at the 9:40 mark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyfCHFy8r-k</ref><ref>[http://www.jvibe.com/Pop_culture/Glee.php] {{dead link|date=March 2014}}</ref> Dia dibesarkan di [[Tenafly, New Jersey|Tenafly]], New Jersey. Dia menghadiri [[Rockland Country Day School]]<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/05/exclusive-glee-star-lea-micheles-childhood-photos |title=EXCLUSIVE: Glee Star Lea Michele’s Childhood Photos |publisher=Radar Online |date=2010-05-21 |accessdate=2014-03-03}}</ref> untuk sekolah dasar di New York dan kemudian [[Tenafly High School]].<ref name=tcea/><ref name=ysu>{{cite news|last=Freydkin|first=Donna|title=Lea Michele never stopped believing|work=[[USA Today]]|date=May 10, 2010|url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2010-05-10-LeaMichele10_CV_N.htm|accessdate=2010-11-02}}</ref> Michele telah melakukan home schooling selama satu tahun saat bekerja di [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]] di ''[[Ragtime]]''. Dia menghadiri [[Stagedoor Manor]] di [[Catskills]], sebuah pusat untuk melakukan pelatihan seni.<ref name=ekrw>{{cite news|last=Bonanos|first=Christopher|title=Jazz Hands, Everyone!|publisher=''[[New York Magazine]]''|date=July 11, 2010|url=http://nymag.com/arts/theater/features/67156/|accessdate=2010-11-02}}</ref> Dia kemudian diterima di [[Tisch School of the Arts]] di [[Universitas New York]], tetapi memilih untuk terus bekerja secara profesional di atas panggung.<ref name=lby>{{cite news|last=Gans|first=Andrew|title=DIVA TALK: Chatting with Spring Awakening's Lea Michele Plus News of LuPone, Kritzer and Gravitte|publisher=''Playbill''|date=November 4, 2006|url=http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/103763-DIVA-TALK-Chatting-with-Spring-Awakenings-Lea-Michele-Plus-News-of-LuPone-Kritzer-and-Gravitte|accessdate=2010-11-02}}</ref><ref name=elp>{{cite news|last=Messer|first=Lesley|title=Who Is Lea Michele's Broadway Star Beau?|work=''[[People (magazine)|People Magazine]]''|date=May 11, 2010|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20368310,00.html|accessdate=2010-11-02}}</ref>
Michele mengadopsi nama panggung pada usia dini, ketika dia melanjutkan audisi pertamanya, dia memberikan namanya sebagai "Lea Michele," dan telah menggunakannya sejak itu. Dia telah menyatakan bahwa dia berubah karena dia menggoda tentang pengucapan nama belakangnya.<ref name="OMG!Yahoo">{{cite web|url=http://omg.yahoo.com/news/lea-michele-changed-her-last-name-because-bullying-000148517.html;_ylt=AjTG6QhQSRAdedm5zZ38OV0Ppxx.;_ylu=X3oDMTNwb3RpdTE3BG1pdANNb2QgVGlsZSA0BHBrZwM4MTg0NWJhZC03MTQxLTNhYmUtYWIyMy1hYzYxZTc2NzY2Y2QEcG9zAzEEc2VjA01lZGlhUGhvdG9UaWxlBHZlcgMyNzQxNTg0MC0yMWZhLTExZTEtYjdmZi0wNWZhMzQ4YWY1ZDk-;_ylg=X3oDMTFvdnRqYzJoBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3|title=Lea Michele Changed Her Last Name Because of Bullying|work=[[US Weekly]]|accessdate=2011-12-09}}</ref>
