Serena Shim, an American citizen of Lebanese origin, was born the daughter of Judith Poe and her Lebanese father around 1985. She was raised in Dearborn and Livonia and her family lived in Detroit, Michigan, United States. As a child, she attended Lowrey Elementary School in Dearborn and later went to Clarenceville High School in Livonia.[5] She attended college at the American University of Science and Technology, Beirut, Lebanon.