Born in Paris, the second of five boys, he had an older brother and has three younger brothers. Schneider was 9 years old when his family moved to Montreal. He later became a naturalized citizen. He started his acting career doing voice-over jobs. His father, Jean-Paul Schneider, was an actor, and his mother, Isabelle Schneider, was a model. His paternal grandmother was a Russian Jewish immigrant to France, who came with her family as a child when they fled the Russian Revolution in 1920.
He has four brothers, including actors Aliocha, Volodiya, and Vassili Schneider. On 8 September 2003, their eldest brother, actor Vadim Schneider, and co-star Jaclyn Linetsky, both 17 years old, died as a result of a road accident while they were driving to the filming of an episode of 15/Love. Their minivan lost control and collided with oncoming traffic.
