Alex Graves was born in Kansas City, Missouri. His father, william Graves, was a reporter for The Kansas City Star and his mother, Alexandra "Sandy" Graves, worked for United States Senator Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas. His family moved to his father's home town of El Dorado, Kansas when he was young, when his father became a partner in the family drug store Business. He graduated from El Dorado High School in 1983. Graves attended Kansas University and the University of Southern California where he earned a BA Degree in Film Production.