Christopher Riley Schmidt, son of Karen and Michael Schmidt, was born February 11, 1976 in St. Louis, Missouri. His career began with modeling at age 17 after he sent photos in to a local modeling agency when he was a junior in high school. He attended St. John Vianney High School in Kirkwood, Missouri and graduated in 1994. He later went on to obtain a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri in 1998. There, he was also a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. After graduating college, he moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting and entertainment. Soon after, he landed a small role on NBC's soap opera Passions. He later guest starred on other hit TV shows such as 7th Heaven, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Power Rangers: Time Force, Cold Case, Drake & Josh, ER, and Day