Gugino was born in Sarasota, Florida, of Italian, English, and Irish ancestry. Her parents separated when she was two and her mother moved the family to Paradise, California, when she was four years old. Despite moving around California a great deal as a child, Carla Gugino remained a straight-A student and graduated valedictorian. At the age of 15 she was spotted by a modeling agency in San Diego and moved to New York. This was unusual as at only 5 feet 4 inches (1.65 meters) tall, she was considered too short for catwalk work. Finding the experience too much, Gugino moved back to California that summer. Partly at the suggestion of her aunt, game show model Carol Merrill, she subsequently studied acting.