Ernest S. Cavazos Jr. was born in San Antonio, Texas to Hilda Barrera a surgical tech and to Ernest Cavazos Sr a Food Distributor and Carpenter. He is of Mexican-American descent and the 2nd oldest of 6 siblings. In his younger years, Ernest knew he always wanted to be an actor yet never saw a future where that was a possibility.

After graduating high school Ernest joined the United States Army, where he became an Artillery Fire Direction Specialist and later re-classed to a Forward Observer. After several deployments, an honorable discharge, and a few credits shy of a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Ernest decided it was time to finally give acting a shot. In 2010 he made the tough decision to move to Los Angeles where he worked in Tech Support for Wells Fargo and attended acting classes at night at the Howard Fine Acting Studio. Ernest has written and starred in several short films, feature films and TV shows.