Dean George Tanaka was born on July 31, 1966 in Mount Clemens, Michigan, the biological son of Roger Tanaka and actress Sharon Thomas. He is of French Canadian, Irish, Japanese and Welsh descent. In 1969, Cain\'s mother married film director Christopher Cain, who adopted Dean and his brother, musician Roger Cain; the family moved to Malibu, California. They later had a daughter, actress Krisinda Cain.\n', '

Cain attended Santa Monica High School, where he excelled in sports. Among his schoolmates were Charlie Sheen, who played on the same baseball team as Cain when they were children, as well as Rob Lowe and his brother, Chad. Cain graduated from high school in 1984 and attended Princeton University, where he played football. He dated actress Brooke Shields while at the university. Cain graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts in history. His senior thesis was titled "The History and Development of the Functions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences".\n', '

Immediately after graduating Cain signed on as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills, but a knee injury during training camp ended his football career prematurely. With little hope of returning to sports, Cain turned to screenwriting and then acting, shooting dozens of commercials including a volleyball-themed spot for Kellogg\'s Frosted Flakes and appearing on popular television shows like Grapevine, A Different World and Beverly Hills, 90210.\n', '

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