Mark Cohen was born and brought up in Glasgow. His mother was the author and journalist Evelyn Cowan, and his father, Paul, was a head maths teacher. After attending Calderwood Lodge Primary School and the High School of Glasgow, he graduated with an honours degree in Interpreting and Translating from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. He then spent two years as a parliamentary research assistant before moving to the City, where he is now a director at a merchant bank. He lives in North West London.