Erin Raftery is of Irish descent. She was born in Thompson, Connecticut, to Rita and James Raftery, who are from Hell's Kitchen New York City. Earning an athletic scholarship, she graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in Political Science, eventually leaving her job with Congressman Joe Courtney in Washington DC to pursue a career as an artist.

Erin trained as an actor at the renowned Herbert Berghof Studio, a professional performing arts school located in Greenwich Village, New York City. (Uta Hagen, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Candice Bergen, Al Pacino, Sarah Jessica Parker.) She moved to Los Angeles after spending a few years in New York City working in the theatre world, eventually starring in and producing the short film Joy Division(2009), set in WWII Germany, which premiered internationally at Cannes Film Festival(2010). The short premiered nationally at Nantucket Film Festival(2010) and has been shown to wide audiences to bring awareness to sex crimes committed at holocaust labor camps.