Mark Sinclair was born to on July 18, 1967, in Alameda County, California, where his mother was also born. Diesel then relocated to New York City with his friendly twin brother, Paul. Delora Sherleen Vincent, his mother (formerly Sinclair), is a crystallographer. Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theatrical director, and his receptive African-American father reared him.
According to Diesel, he is "of vague nationality." His mother has Scottish, German, and English ancestry. He has said that "all I know from my mom is that I have associations with various societies" despite never having met his biological father. Diesel acknowledges that due to anti-miscegenation laws, his parents' relationship would have been illegal in certain parts of the US.
At the age of seven, Diesel made his theatrical debut in Barbara Garson's children's play Dinosaur Entryway. The drama was presented at Theater for the New City in Greenwich Village, New York. His involvement in the performance began when he, his brother, and a small group of friends broke into the Theater for the New City building on Jane Road to vandalize it. The creative director of the theater, Gem Field, took them on instead of contacting the police and gave them positions in the next production. Diesel was always interested in theater as a child, and after enrolling at the Tracker School in New York City, where he focused on creative writing, he began writing for the film. He has admitted to being a "diverse" performer.
Sinclair began using the stage name "Vin Diesel" while filling in as a bouncer at the New York club Passage because he needed a moniker with a more intimidating tone for his job. While the last name Diesel was given to him by his friends because of his inclination to be vivacious, Vin is derived from his mother's married last name, Vincent.