Kroll was born in New York City, and raised in Westchester County, New York.[2][3][4] the son of Lynn and Kroll Inc. founder Jules B. Kroll.[1][5] The youngest child in the family,[6] he has a brother, Jeremy, and two sisters, Vanessa and Dana.[1] He attended high school at Rye Country Day School.[7] During this time, he also briefly attended The Mountain School in Vermont where he developed his fondness for hiking.[8] In 2001, Kroll graduated from Georgetown University.[6] He described himself as "a history major, and I minored in art and Spanish, but I found myself gravitating toward media studies as time went on."[9]