Lawton is of African American and Korean descent. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Lawton is the middle child of three children, She also has a older half sister who's full Korean. She lived a military life with her family abroad in such countries as Korea, Japan, and Germany. Her family moved around the US, living primarily in Neptune, New Jersey then in Washington D.C. In 1996, she graduated from Largo High School in Largo, Maryland. She went to Kettering Middle School with R&B singer Mya Harrison.

Lawton was romantically involved with actor Wesley Jonathan from 2006-2009. Lawton is conversational in Korean. On March 25, 2011 Lawton's brother Gregory Lawton, Jr was murdered in Temple Hills, Maryland.