Jacobs was born and raised in Harrington Park, New Jersey, where he was educated at Northern Valley Regional High School, Old Tappan. Jacobs is the son of Rafael Jacobs, who works as a Lawyer, and Marti Jacobs. He has a brother, Douglas Jacobs, who is the President of Integrated Sports Media, a Sports firm, located in Hoboken. Jacobs is also a graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts. During a hiatus from the school in 1986, he worked as an assistant Director to John Sayles on the independent film Matewan.