Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, Lewis earned her B.A. in Political Science and Theater Arts from the Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California. She trained acting under Star Trek: Deep Space Nine semi-regular Salome Jens and singing under coaches Edward Sayegh, Jan Linder Koda, and Robert Edwards. In 2001, Lewis worked as writer, director, producer, composer, and leading actress on the short comedy Go with the Fro which also featured Star Trek: Voyager actress Elizabeth Goldstein. The film was the Best short winner at the Broad Humor Film Festival in 2006.