Dean was born on September 29, 1982, in Los Angeles, California. She grew up surrounded by the performance arts, spending much of her time as a child at the improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school The Groundlings seeing her mother performing and teaching with the troupe formed by Gary Austin in 1974.
To Tracy Newman and James F. Dean, an actor, photographer, and graphic designer. She is also niece of Laraine Newman American comedienne, actress, voice artist, writer, and original SNL cast member. Dean is an alumna of Marlborough School, Los Angeles High School of the Arts, Bard College, and Cornish College of the Arts from which she graduated Summa Cum Laude.
Dean began writing when she was a child, inspired by her father.
After finishing high school she traveled to Mexico City, where she worked as a muralist and continued to write. Her visual artwork has been shown in Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and Mexico City.
Some of her work is part of the Ryan James Fine Arts gallery collection in Kirkland, Washington. In 2014, she made her short stories into a 90-minute show directed by Dean and her mother, Tracy Newman.
Charlotte"s Shorts was also performed at the San Francisco Sketchfest on January 31, 2015.
Dean also writes and illustrates the My Crazy Baby Brother children"s book series.
