 Baird was born in Burnie, Tasmania, on 7 June 1981, the son of Kaye and Doug Baird, a former Carlton Football Club player who, at the time, was coaching the Cooee Football Club.In 1984, Cameron, his parents and older brother Brendan, moved to Victoria and grew up in Gladstone Park, a north western suburb of Melbourne.Baird was educated Gladstone Views Primary School before completing his Victorian Certificate of Education at Gladstone Park Secondary College.