Greer was born in Livonia, Michigan. Before getting into acting, she trained for almost ten years in classical Russian dance at Bunny Sanford's School of Dance[citation needed]. Greer attended Winston Churchill High School in Livonia and is an alumna of the Creative and Performing Arts Program. She graduated in 1997 from the theater program at DePaul University, where her roommate was Colette Marino, known as DJ Colette, whose songs appear in the soundtracks of The Devil Wears Prada, and Sex and the City. Greer worked a variety of unrelated jobs during college, including employment as a telemarker and oyster shucker.