Malouf was born in
Beirut, Lebanon. She is the daughter of Lebanese novelist
Hanan al-Shaykh. She was six months old when her family fled to the United Kingdom following the events of the
Lebanese Civil War. They spent two years in
London before moving to
Saudi Arabia, where her father, construction engineer Fouad Malouf, was based. They spent six years in
Khobar, before moving back to London. Malouf attended
Brown University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Fine Art and
Art History. She later attended
New York University Tisch School of the Arts and earned a
Master of Fine Arts degree in set and costume design. ==Career==