Born in Toms River, where she made her first appearance in a Tom's River hospital, New Jersey, Piper Perabo is the eldest of three siblings (she has two younger brothers, Noah and Adam). Her father was an English professor. Coming from a family of Portuguese and Norwegian descent, her different name can be attributed to her hippie parents' desire to give their daughter an original name. She would have been named India Star, until her parents chose to name their daughter after the classic actress, Piper Laurie.
Piper received her high school degree from Toms River High School North. A friend from Piper's class described her as "a sweetheart who was very kind and caring." After graduating high school, she furthered her education at Ohio University, studying acting, where she graduated with a BFA in acting.
Piper took off to New York, where she was going to try and make it as an actress. Her career was slow at starting off, so Piper, much as her character in Coyote Ugly did, had to start working at a bar to make ends meet. Meanwhile, she was working and studying at the LaMama Theatre right in the city. She grabbed a couple of roles in low-budget films, but nothing noteworthy.
Following roles in 1998's Single Spaced and 1999's Knuckleface Jones (as a giant squid), Piper landed the lead female role in Whiteboyz, as the girlfriend of a guy obsessed with the "white homeboy" culture. However, the role didn't bring her very much critical or commercial success.
She really hit it big as an aspiring singer turned sexy bartender in Coyote Ugly. Piper landed the lead role of Violet and took crash courses in voice, guitar, piano, dance, and bartending to prepare for her role. “At first I was really scared. But after a few takes, I felt better about it. I mean, the crew and the extras are all told to cheer no matter what you do.”
Still, the role of Violet was not too much of a stretch for Piper, since she also left her small town to pursue her dreams in the Big City. She apparently beat out Britney Spears and Jewel for the lead role.
