Tee was born Jae-Beom Takata (Japanese: 高田 ジェボム, Korean Hangul: 재범 타카다) in Okinawa Prefecture. His father was Japanese-American and his mother was from South Korea. His father was born in an internment camp during World War II. His mother was living in Japan working as a reporter.
At the age of two, he moved to Hacienda Heights, California, and was raised in Southern California. He attended Glen A. Wilson High School where he was an Associated Student Body president and captain of the football team. While in high school, he worked at Blackjack Pizza in Hacienda Heights.
Tee graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a degree in theater and performing arts. Not long after graduating, he adopted his "culturally ambiguous" stage name Brian Tee after being rejected by a Korean director at an audition for having a Japanese last name.

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