born on february 16, 1971 in sacramento, california, avenatti spent his early childhood in colorado and utah. he moved with his family to chesterfield, missouri, near st. louis, in 1982, where he attended parkway central high school. after graduating in 1989, avenatti attended saint louis university for a year before transferring to the university of pennsylvania, where he graduated with a b.a. in political science in 1996.