Born and raised in New Jersey. Attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. Graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in film.
Attended the same high school as R&B singer and hip-hop MC Lauryn Hill. Member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity at Northwestern. He has gained praise at film festivals for his directorial debut, Garden State. Attended the same high school as Elisabeth Shue and Andrew Shue. In fact, he grew up around the corner from the Shue family. Brother, novelist Josh Braff, wrote "The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green." Father is an attorney, who also does stage work. Also attending Columbia High School at the same time was Ahmed Best, better known as the voice of _Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)_ 's Jar Jar Binks. Is best friends in real life with Scrubs co-star Donald Faison, who plays Turk. The youngest of four children: Adam J. Braff, Joshua Braff (wife, Jill; children, Henry and Ella), and Shoshanna Braff. Middle brother, Joshua Braff, and oldest brother, Adam J. Braff have collaborated on screenplays for TV. Sister is a fashion designer. Parents are divorced, each is remarried, and all get along with one another. Zach's "four parents" are all at Thanksgiving dinner together every year, with the four children, and the grandchildren. Won a Grammy in February of 2005 for "Best Compilation Soundtrack For A Motion Picture" for Garden State, on which he served as the compilation producer. According to an article in The Chicago Sun-Times, when Braff won his Best First Feature Independent Spirit Award for Garden State, his father jumped up from a back table in the room and yelled, "That's my kid!". Attended the same high school as producer Joel Silver (Road House, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon) and drummer Max Weinberg (E Street Band, Late Night with Conan O'Brien). Auditioned for the role of Drue Valentine on Dawson's Creek, which eventually went to Mark Matkevich. Per his request that she contribute a song to the soundtrack of Garden State, his ex-girlfriend Bonnie Somerville recorded the song "Winding Road" for the film. Graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in film Named among Fade In Magazine's "100 People in Hollywood You Need to Know" in 2005. Is a die-hard fan of the show Lost. Mandy Moore accompanied him to the Golden Globes in 2006. His father is of Russian heritage. On Scrubs, Braff's character is often called by various girl's names. Ironically, his first TV role was in an after school special called CBS Schoolbreak Special (Episode: My Summer as a Girl), in which he poses as a girl to get a summer job. Directed the music video "Chariot" for singer Gavin DeGraw. Zach Braff's real-life friend and Scrubs cast mate, Donald Faison, also made a cameo in the video. Ended relationship with Mandy Moore [June 14, 2006]. His right leg is an eighth of an inch longer than his left, which led to a herniated disk in late 2006. Some of the events in Garden State (which Braff wrote and directed) are quirky, exaggerated derivatives of occurrences in his real life. The actor has cut a one-year deal with Scrubs producer ABC TV Studio that will pay him about $350,000 per episode for the 2007-08 season. His alma mater, Columbia High School, is in a town (Maplewood, NJ) adjacent to (and is a de facto rival of) Millburn, where Zach's Scrubs Co-star John C. McGinley grew up and attended high school. Actress Anne Hathaway also attended Millburn High. When he sent the script for Garden State to people, he would also send them a copy of the songs (which he handpicked), which would eventually be the soundtrack. This was in the order in which they appear. Close friend with Scrubs co-star Sarah Chalke.