Pine was born in Los Angeles, California to Robert Pine and Gwynne Gilford; he also has a sister, Katie. His father was an actor and had a contract with Universal, while his mother was a seamstress for B-movies. His maternal grandparents were Anne Gwynne, a Hollywood actress, and Max M. Gilford, a Hollywood attorney. Pine graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in English.

Pine's first acting role was in a 2003 episode of ER; the same year, he also appeared in episodes of The Guardian and CSI: Miami. In 2004, he appeared in Why Germany?, a short film, and in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Pine was one of several love interests of Anne Hathaway's character in the film, which was released in August of that year to a strong box office. In 2005, Pine appeared in an episode of the series Six Feet Under, as well as in Confession, an independent film that was released directly-to-video, and The Bulls, another short film.

Pine appeared in the made-for-television film, Surrender Dorothy, which aired in early 2006. He also played Jake Hardin in the American film Just My Luck, a romantic comedy in which he stars opposite Lindsay Lohanwho plays Ashley Albright. The film was released on May 12, 2006. Also starring in Just My Luck were McFly who starred, as themselves, as a new band founded by Jake in America. Pine appears in the comedy, Blind Dating and in the action film Smokin' Aces.

In 2007, Pine turned down a role in an upcoming film adaptation of White Jazz in order to accept the part of James T. Kirk in the upcoming Star Trek, to be directed by J.J. Abrams, which will be released in 2009.