雷吉·李出生在菲律宾奎松城，是家中三个儿子的老大。他会说英语、广东话以及他的母语－－塔加路族语(菲律宾吕宋岛和棉兰老岛的方言)。孩提时代，Reggie随父母全家搬到俄亥俄州的克里夫兰市，在那里完成了自己的高中学业。
Richard Riehle was born in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, to Mary Margaret (Walsh), a nurse, and Herbert John Riehle, an assistant postmaster. He is of German and Irish descent. Richard attended the University of Notre Dame, where he became heavily involved with the University Theatre. Appearing in such productions as "Luther", "Antigone", "Rhinoceros", "Romeo and Juliet", and "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying", he also took on the task of stage manager on many of these productions, and it was not unusual to find him helping to build the sets or manage the costumes during this period. Graduating with a B.A. (cum laude) in 1970, Richard traveled to Salzburg and Innsbruck to study German, a language in which he is fluent.
