Edward Albee was born in Washington, D.C. on March 12, 1928. Two weeks later, he was adopted by Reed and Frances Albee and taken to live in the family home in Westchester, New York.

Albee's adoptive father owneda nationwide chain of vaudeville theaters, which meant that young Albee got much early exposure to theater personalities.

Albee's childhood, to say the least, was extremely comfortable. A magazine reports that this was a time "of servants, tutors, riding lessons; winters in Miami, summers sailing on the Sound; there was a Rolls to bring him, smuggled in lap robes, to matinees in the city; an inexhaustible wardrobe housed in a closet big as a room. . ." ("Who Isn't Afraid of Edward Albee?" Show, February 1963, p. 83). Albee has never made any explicit comments about the happiness of his childhood. His father was believed, however, to be dominated by his wife, who was considerably younger than her husband and an avid athlete.

Albee's short play, The Sandbox, was dedicated to his maternal grandmother, to whom he was apparently very close.

Albee attended the Choate school from 1944 to 1946, when he enrolled at Trinity College, a small liberal arts institution in Hartford, Connecticut. His stay there was brief, but he gained some dramatic experience playing the role of characters in plays.

For over ten years Albee has regularly introduced plays on the American stage, and to this date has written thirteen plays. He is a noteworthy figure in the American theater not only for his works, but also for his efforts to introduce new talent and techniques.