Sossamon was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the daughter of Sherry Sossamon, a nurse, and Todd Lindberg; her mother later re-married to Randy Goldstein. Sossamon grew up in Reno, Nevada, and attended Galena High School there. Sossamon is of Dutch, English, Filipino, French, German, Hawaiian, and Irish descent. The y in her first name was an adolescent alteration in 1995. The day after her high school graduation, Sossamon moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in dance. Sossamon appeared in television commercials and had DJ gigs in local clubs. In 1999, Sossamon was discovered by casting director Francine Maisler, while assisting a friend DJ at Gwyneth Paltrow's birthday party. Her picture on the internet was the inspiration for the song "Spectacular" from Blur ex-guitarist Graham Coxon's 5th solo album, Happiness in Magazines.