Jensen Ackles was born in Dallas, Texas, to Donna Joan (Shaffer) and actor Alan Ackles. He has English, German, and Scottish ancestry. Jensen grew up in Richardson, Texas, together with his older brother, Joshua, and a younger sister, Mackenzie. Jensen graduated from Dartmouth Elementary School in 1990, he graduated from Apollo Junior High School in 1993, and LV Berkner High School in 1996. Jensen is a sports junkie. He loves football, lacrosse, baseball, and basketball. He even played on the baseball and lacrosse teams in high school. The 6' 1" actor first started modeling when he was just 2 years old. When he turned 4, he started appearing in TV commercials for Nabisco, RadioShack and Wal-Mart.
Jensen planned to study sports medicine at Texas Tech University and become a physical therapist, before he decided to move to Los Angeles to give acting a try, and in 1996 managed to secure guest roles on several TV shows. Eventually this would lead to more and more starring roles. In 2006, Jensen took on a role in the Independently filmed comedy/drama movie, Ten Inch Hero (2007). From June 5-10 in 2007 Jensen had his professional stage debut as Lt. Daniel Kaffee in "A Few Good Men" at Casa Manana Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas, working along side Lou Diamond Phillips. Jensen also starred in the movie, My Bloody Valentine (2009), alongside Jaime King and Kerr Smith.
During his free time, Jensen enjoys golfing, horseback riding, scuba diving and photography. He is also a big fan of country music. His favorite musician is Garth Brooks. He even sang back-up vocals on good friend Steve Carlson's albums "Spot in the Corner" and "Rollin' On." Jensen splits his time between Vancouver, British Columbia where he films Supernatural (2005) and his home in Austin, Texas.