Dakota Halliburton was born in 1992 and raised in Austin, Texas. She is the third generation of her deaf father and grandmama, who were artists. She received her AAS as a Photo Specialist Artist from Austin Community College. She pursued a BFA in Fine Art photography, a minor in Imaging Systems, and immersion in Museum Studies from Rochester Institute of Technology. She was accepted by UConn and was offered a Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant positions.