Rappaport lived with her parents Edna and Jospeh in Dallas, Texas, until she was 9. She then moved to outside New York City to test her acting. She started acting classes at age 5 and got her first agent at age 6. She got a role on Nickelodeon's "Clarissa Explains It All". She then moved to Los Angeles and landed several guest starring roles. This led to her new role on "NYPD Blue".