Terence V. Steele, Jr. was born in Miami, Florida on Homestead Air Force Base. His father (Terence Steele Sr.) served in the air force and his mother (Patricia Smiley-Harmon) was a local athlete with a fiery personality. Steele moved around a lot as a child (between both parents), living in Indiana, Alaska, Arizona, and finally Decatur, Georgia where he grew up and spent most of his life.

As a child, Steele was a class clown. Often getting into trouble for making jokes or just talking. As he grew older, he became more disciplined; making the honor roll regularly and lettered in 3 sports. He was also the editor of his high school newspaper, where he first found his passion for writing and journalism.

He studied journalism at the University of Georgia (UGA), where he also obtained a minor in drama. He found his passion for drama at UGA performing with the Black Theatrical Ensemble in most of their productions while he was there. Steele also produced his first short film at UGA in 1999.

After college, Steele attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for graduate school and studied film production. He produced 2 more short films there and acted in 3 other shorts.

In 2009 he worked with filmmaker Kewin Muhammad of Prime Factor Films in Atlanta. Steele joined Prime Factor Films' team and helped them produce 2 feature films: "The List" and "Checkmate". A few years later Steele ventured out on his own and stared his film production company: Steele Media Group. Under Steele Media Group, he has produced the romantic comedy "Atlanta To New York", as well as the documentary "The Spirit of '69" highlighting the legacy of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. at the University of Georgia.