Christopher Shea was born in Arlington, Massachusetts. He attended Matignon High School and later attended and graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He studied with Irma Sandrey, David Gideon, Lindsay Crouse, and Alan Langdon. He is one of the founding members of the Neurotic Young Urbanites--an award-winning theatre troupe consisting of NYU graduates who migrated to Los Angeles to create new acting opportunities and showcase their talents. Chris enjoys comedy theatre as well as musical theatre.

He made his television debut in the recurring role of the Vorta Keevan on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1997. Continuing in the Star Trek series, he also had several guest roles on Voyager and Enterprise. His other TV credits include appearances on The Drew Carey Show, The West Wing, Charmed, Frasier, The Shield, Cold Case, The Practice, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Love, Inc.

Since 1993, Chris has appeared in numerous NYU productions such as Three Stops on the "N," The Boys Next Door, Etta Jenks, All in the Timing, Alone at the Beach, Twelfth Night, Up the Week Without a Paddle, The Myth of More, Once Upon a Primetime, and Golden Prospects. In non-NYU related plays, he has appeared most notably as a soloist in a production of "Gershwin to Porter" at Radio City Music Hall, as Tony in a production of West Side Story that toured Greece, and as Paul in a Laguna Playhouse production of Company.