Ümit Özdağ was born on 3 March 1961 in Tokyo, Japan, where his father Muzaffer Özdağ served as a Turkish government advisor. His mother, Gönül Özdağ, would go on to serve as the first MHP Women's Wing President. His father was a close ally of MHP founder Alparslan Türkeş and served as a member of the National Unity Committee that was installed following the 1960 Turkish coup d'état.