A classic California blond, Janel Moloney grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills and knew from a young age she wanted to be an actress. The youngest in a tight-knit family of four children, Moloney has a fraternal twin. She studied dance from the age of five to fifteen but has always said she knew she wanted to be an actress and a serious, professional one at that. As a child, Moloney would often put on perfomances for her family, mostly from the musical "Annie," her favorite musical at the time. She admits her gracious family put up with the fact that Moloney's strong suit was not her singing voice.