At age 18, with her father's permission,[2] she immigrated to the United States.[1] She moved to New York City and began pursuing a career in acting; this became a full-time profession for her in 2010. She became a student at The Juilliard School at age 22, and also became a student in the graduate acting program of New York University.[2] She is the first Middle East-born woman to be accepted to the Juilliard and NYU programs.[3]