Mimi Khalvati was born in Tehran, Iran. She grew up on the Isle of Wight and was educated in Switzerland at the University of Neuchâtel, and in London at the Drama Centre and the School of African and Oriental Studies. She has worked as an actor and director in both the UK and Iran.

She is the founder of The Poetry School, running poetry workshops and courses in London, and is co-editor of the School's first two anthologies of new writing: Tying the Song and Entering The Tapestry. She is a tutor at the Arvon Foundation, and has taught creative writing at universities and colleges in the US and England.