Born to a middle-class family in Missoula, Montana, Lynch spent his childhood traveling around the United States before he studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, where he first made the transition to producing short films.
Rođen u obitelji srednje klase u Missouli, država Montana, Lynch je djetinjstvo proveo putujući SAD-om prije nego je upisao studij slikarstva na Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts u Philadelphiji gdje se i započeo baviti produkcijom kratkih filmova.