David Gibbs was born in Richmond, Virginia, the second child of John and Martha Gibbs. His father is a real estate developer in Richmond, Virginia and his brother John is a Neurologist in Greenville, North Carolina. David started playing tennis at the age of 11 and became a top ranked tennis player in the state of Virginia and in his Middle Atlantic region. He attended Douglas Southall Freeman High School in Richmond and became an All-American in tennis at the high school. He trained at The Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida and attended Bradenton Academy High School the first semester of his senior year in high school. He then attended West Virginia University on a tennis scholarship. He was injured most of his freshman year and had to have foot surgery. He took an acting class that year and decided to transfer to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond to play tennis for the school and study business. He continued to study acting and was in some local commercials. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Business Administration and then relocated to Los Angeles, California.
His brother is actor Timothy Gibbs.
