Tisdale was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey on July 2, 1985,[2] to Lisa (ne Morris) and Mike Tisdale. She grew up there in Ocean Township.[3] Her elder sister Jennifer Tisdale is also an actress, most notably starring in Bring It On: In It to Win It. Her maternal grandfather is Arnold Morris, the developer of Ginsu Knives; and through her grandfather, she is also related to businessman Ron Popeil.[4][5] Tisdale is Jewish on her mother's side and considers herself Jewish.[6][7] She was discovered by Bill Perlman, her current manager, at South Shores Mall, when she was three.[8] After booking her first audition, she went on to star in around one hundred national network commercials. At the age of eight, she got a leading role in the Broadway musical, Les Misrables and later toured internationally with the cast of Annie.[8] She began acting, appearing in stage productions of Gypsy: A Musical Fable and The Sound of Music at the Jewish Community Center of Monmouth County.[9][10]