Larisa R. Oleynik was born June 7, 1981 "in a hospital". She chooses to keep her middle name secret because she thinks "it’s long and ugly" (she also says it’s Russian). Do I know what it is ? Yes. Am I going to tell you ? No. Is it Ugly ? No, I think it’s interesting and beautiful but it’s her choice.

Larisa played her first major acting (and singing) role at age eight in a Broadway road show of the musical "Les Miserables" at the Curran Theater in San Francisco. Before this Larisa had done a few school plays and had a small role in "The Nutcracker" with the San Jose Cleveland Ballet. According to Larisa "my aunt saw an ad in the newspaper for the [Les Miserables] audition, so I went and got the part." Larisa’s mom described her audition in a 1997 article: "Everyone was standing inline with portfolios and resumes. We had one little piece of paper with her name and age." Larisa sang "Castle on a Cloud" from the show in the audition.

There is a castle on a cloud.
I like to go there in my sleep.
Aren't any floors for me to sweep,
Not in my castle on a cloud.

There is a room that's full of toys.
There are a hundred boys and girls.
Nobody shouts or talks too loud,
Not in my castle on a cloud.

There is a lady all in white
Who holds me and sings a lullaby.
She's nice to see and she's soft to touch.
She says, "Cosette, I love you very much".

There is a place where no one's lost.
There is a place where no one cries.
Crying at all is not allowed,
Not in my castle on cloud.