Dev Patel was born on 23rd April 1990 in Brent, Greater London,England to Gujarati Indian Hindu parents, both of whom were born in Nairobi, Kenya. His mother Anita Patel is a carer and his father Raj Patel an IT consultant.
Dev Patel attended Longfield Primary School and later went to Whitmore High School, receiving an A* in GCSE Drama, for his "self-penned portrayal of a child in the Beslan school siege".
His drama teacher Niamh Wright has stated:
"Dev was a gifted student who quickly impressed me with his innate ability to communicate a wide variety of characters imaginatively and creatively. He was awarded full marks for his GCSE performance to a live audience and the visiting examiner was moved to tears by his honest portrayal of a child in the Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia. He eventually completed his AS Levels in 2007, while he was working in Skins.
Dev Patel started training at the Rayners Lane Academy of Taekwon-do in 2000 and achieved a 1st dan (rank) black belt
on 11 March 2006. He competed regularly in both national and international championships, including the 2004 World
Championship in Dublin, where he won a bronze medal.
