Adam El Sharkawy was born on July 23, 1994 in the Republic of Egypt to Egyptian parents, and his real name is Mahmoud Khaled El Sharkawy. He grew up in a middle-class family, whose origins go back to Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate. His father Khaled is a doctor in criminal law. Adam's family consists of three brothers, and he is the middle one among them. As a child, Adam left Egypt with his parents for California, United States. He was named Adam at John Robert School of Acting where he was studying when he was ten years old.

At age 18, he decided to shorten his last name to "Adam Elshar". After his graduation, Adam started joining various acting workshops, including the famous acting coach Lauren Patrice Nadler's workshop. In 2018, Adam decided to take a serious step in the world of acting, and his first participation was in a short independent film. He gained recognition for his role as Ziad or Big Zee in the Egyptian TV series Newton's Cradle (2021).