Both of Akhavan's parents immigrated to the United States following the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Akhavan studied Film and Theatre at Smith College, a women’s college in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she was "a bit of a loner". After graduating in 2007, she studied film directing as a graduate student at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She also spent a year studying abroad at Queen Mary, University of London. Akhavan made her first short film Two Drink Minimum while studying in London as a graduate student. In 2010, she wrote and directed the short film Nose Job. Akhavan identifies herself as a bisexual woman and a Brooklynite. She has a brother who is a paediatric urologist.
Movie | Dykes, Camera, Action! | Self | 2018-06-19 |
Series | The Bisexual | Leila | 2018-10-10 |
Movie | Creep 2 | Sara | 2017-10-14 |
Movie | The Circuit | Angie | 2016-08-25 |
Series | Flowers | Carol | 2016-04-25 |
Movie | Appropriate Behavior | Shirin | 2015-03-14 |