Trejo, a Mexican-American,[1] was born Dan Trejo, Jr.[2] in Los Angeles, the son of Alice Rivera and Dan Trejo, a construction worker. He is a cousin of filmmaker Robert Rodriguez[3][4] and is from the Pacoima neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley. As a youth, he roamed the streets around his home area, committing various crimes with his uncle and becoming addicted to drugs. He was in and out of jail many times as a teenager.