Eric was born and raised in a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia. He has 3 sisters and a brother: Jason Lively, Lori Lively, Robyn Lively and Blake Lively. His father is Ernie Lively. His mother, Elaine Lively, is a talent manager for kids, but does not (and never has) represented Eric or his siblings. Eric attended the Los Angeles at the LA County High School for the Arts. 

After graduating high school at the age of 15, he moved to New York to study Photography, at Parsons School of Design. He became a model and was not seriously pursuing acting. After shooting the Abercrombie and Fitch campaign, he got American Pie (1999) and moved back to Los Angeles. Photography is Eric's real passion, it's not just a hobby he shoots pictures of actors and models for magazines, under an alias name. He resides in his photo studio in Los Angeles and New York, where, when not filming, he spends most of his time.

Credit: imdb.com