Polo was born Theresa Elizabeth Polo in Dover, Delaware, the daughter of Jane, a homemaker, and Vincent Polo, a stereo systems designer. Polo studied ballet beginning at age five. By age 13 she was attending New York's School of American Ballet. After winning a modeling contest, she moved to New York City at the age of seventeen to pursue an acting career. In April 1997, Polo married photographer Anthony Moore at the age of twenty-seven. In the summer of 2002, she gave birth to their son, Griffin. In 2003, Polo and Moore divorced, ending their six-year marriage. A year later, while on the set of a video, she met drummer Jamie Wollam (of the bands Avion and Venice). Polo gave birth to daughter, Bayley (born December 20, 2007 at 3:02 p.m. in Los Angeles).