Shawn Batten was born on August 14 in Kansas City, Missouri, but her family actually lived in Kansas City, Kansas. A majority of her extended family lives in Newfoundland, Canada. Her father was a general manager and service manager for General Motors and then for Mercedes-Benz. However, when she was 6, her family settled down in Ramsey, New Jersey, where her father now owns a Mercedes-Benz/Volkswagon dealership. Shawn has one younger sister, Sharon, who is working in the fashion industry.
Acting was something Batten always wanted to do, even as a youngster. When she was 14, her parents took her to Manhattan every Saturday to attend a day-long session for young people at the Lee Strasberg Institute. She began auditioning at the age of 16 and landed her first commercial for Bounce. No other family member has had any acting experience, so she bought a book called How To Be a Working Actor that was recommended to her by a kid down the street who also did commercials.
Batten majored in drama at Syracuse University. She belonged to the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority while attending the university. Shawn perfected her craft at North Carolina School of Arts, as well as the Atlantic Theatre Company.
Shawn was also a vegetarian for almost fifteen years. However, on the night she learned she got the part of Sara Cummings on "Sunset Beach", Shawn ate a filet mignon and felt great!
Batten has been dating music producer and guitarist Steve Lukather, who plays with the group, Toto.
