Grant Shaud was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Edward Shaud, Jr. and Ann Barbara (née Dougherty). His family was Irish Catholic. He attended Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1979. In 1983, he graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Richmond where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
In 1984, Shaud moved to New York City to begin working in theater. His first acting role in television was as a guest character named Jack on Kate & Allie, who was a college student and Director on a local cable channel. In 1988, he began as Miles Silverberg on Murphy Brown. He lived with co-star Jane Leeves before and during her guest stint on the show, in which she concurrently played his girlfriend. He left in 1996 with his "boss" role on the show being taken over by Lily Tomlin.
