Rowan was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and is a graduate of Toronto's Northern Secondary School. At age 19, she left the University of Western Ontario and then attained her degree in English Literature to join the cast of the Canadian series Mount Royal. Rowan went on to further her education, studying acting at the British American Drama Academy in London and, upon returning to North America, relocating to New York to study at the city’s famed Neighborhood Playhouse.