Leyla Modirzadeh attended Cambridge University, England, and received her BA in Humanities from UC Berkeley, MFA in Acting from University of Washington, and MFA in Fine Arts from Pratt Institute, NY.
Modirzadeh taught at the University of Mississippi and Baruch College. NY. She worked and toured with Ping Chong and Company since 1995 as a performer, writer and director. She also wrote and directed for Lincoln Center Institute's Clarke Theatre, the educational wing of Lincoln Center. She acted professionally with theatres including Wisdom Bridge Theatre, Chicago, A Contemporary Theatre, Seattle, and the Group Theatre, Seattle.
In 2002 she founded Two Little Heads Productions, a film and video production company in New York City. Her animated and live action films have been screened at Anthology Film Archive, Art in General, Galapagos Ocularis, P.S. 122, The Williamsburg Historical Society, The Pioneer Theatre (all in New York City), Portland Cultural Festival, Berkeley Alternative Arts Festival, Lucerne Film Festival, Big Apple Film Festival, and the Potlikker film festival in Oxford. She also won the Gold Award for Best Music Video at the California Film Awards.