Desiree Akhavan: How Her Stories Reached the Screen
The filmmaker behind Appropriate Behavior and The Miseducation of Cameron Post also writes, acts and directs television.
Introduction
Desiree Akhavan is an Iranian-American filmmaker, writer and actor. Desiree Akhavan is best known for Appropriate Behavior, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and the TV series The Bisexual.
Her work reaches beyond those titles. Desiree Akhavan has directed episodes of Hacks and Overcompensating, and published her first book in 2024. As of September 2026, she continues to be described publicly as a writer and director.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Verified information |
|---|---|
| Name | Desiree Akhavan |
| Known for | Film directing, screenwriting, acting and television |
| Education | Smith College; NYU graduate film programme |
| First feature | Appropriate Behavior |
| Major award |
|
| First book | You’re Embarrassing Yourself (2024) |
Early Life and Education
Akhavan grew up in New York in an Iranian immigrant family. Television was a big part of her childhood. In an interview with Channel 4, she recalled watching American family shows and enjoying the comedy of Tracy Ullman and Mel Brooks with her family.
Desiree Akhavan started writing scripts young. Her reason was simple: Desiree Akhavan wanted other children to take parts and play with her at lunch.
Later, Desiree Akhavan earned a BA from Smith College and an MFA from New York University’s graduate film programme. At NYU, she met filmmaker Ingrid Jungermann. The two went on to make the web series The Slope.
From The Slope to Her First Film
The Slope gave Akhavan an early place to write and perform. It also brought wider attention. In 2012, Filmmaker magazine named Akhavan and Jungermann among its “25 New Faces of Independent Film.”
Then came Appropriate Behavior. Akhavan wrote, directed and starred in the film, which follows Shirin, an Iranian-American woman finding her footing after a breakup. It premiered at Sundance in 2014. Her screenplay earned a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination the following year.
The story drew on personal experience, but Akhavan has been clear about the line between life and fiction. She was writing through the feelings left by a relationship; she was making a film, not a record of every event.
The Sundance Prize That Brought Wider Attention
Akhavan’s next feature was The Miseducation of Cameron Post. Desiree Akhavan directed it and wrote the screenplay with Cecilia Frugiuele, adapting Emily M. Danforth’s novel. The film follows a teenager sent to a conversion therapy centre.
On 27 January 2018, it won Sundance’s U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic. That is a prize awarded to the film; Akhavan was its director and co-writer.
The Bisexual and Television Directing
Later in 2018, Akhavan starred in The Bisexual, a six-part comedy drama Desiree Akhavan wrote with Frugiuele. Desiree Akhavan directed the series too. It follows Leila, a woman reconsidering how she describes her sexuality after the end of a long relationship.
There is an easy mistake to make here. Leila’s story is not Akhavan’s exact story. In her Channel 4 interview, Akhavan said the plot was fictional, though Desiree Akhavan and Frugiuele drew the characters from people they knew.
Akhavan has also directed other creators’ television work. Warner Bros. Discovery credits her on two first-season episodes of Hacks. Her later credits include Ramy, Tiny Beautiful Things and Overcompensating.
Writing You’re Embarrassing Yourself
In August 2024, Akhavan published You’re Embarrassing Yourself, a book of 17 personal essays. It covers family, growing up, relationships and the uneasy parts of making art. The book gave her room to tell those stories in her own voice, without turning them into a film or TV character first.
Desiree Akhavan also works with emerging artists. Her Queer|Art mentor profile lists narrative film and nonfiction among her fields and describes the kind of support she hopes to give other makers.
What Is Desiree Akhavan Doing Now?
As of September 2026, Akhavan’s recent public credits include television directing and her 2024 book. A July 2026 Talkhouse interview introduced her as a writer, director, actor and memoirist and discussed what she might do next. A new film release was not established in the sources checked for this article.
Final Thought
Akhavan first drew attention with stories she wrote and performed herself. She has since directed an award-winning film, made a TV series, worked on other shows and written a book. Start with Appropriate Behavior to see her early work, then watch The Miseducation of Cameron Post to see the film that won Sundance’s top US dramatic prize.
FAQs
Who is Desiree Akhavan?
She is an Iranian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, actor and author known for Appropriate Behavior, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and The Bisexual.
What award did she win at Sundance?
The Miseducation of Cameron Post, which she directed and co-wrote, won the 2018 U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic.
Did she create The Bisexual?
Yes. Akhavan wrote it with Cecilia Frugiuele, directed it and played its lead character, Leila.
Is The Bisexual based on her life?
Its characters drew on people the writers knew, but Akhavan said its plot was not autobiographical.
Where did she study film?
She earned a BA from Smith College and an MFA from NYU’s graduate film programme.
Has she written a book?
Yes. Her first book, You’re Embarrassing Yourself, was published in August 2024.
Has she directed Hacks?
Yes. Warner Bros. Discovery credits her as director of two episodes in its first season.
