Barbara is a German-born Assyrian. She was a BFA Motion Pictures & Television student at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Her passion led her to London to complete her studies as a graduate student, and receiving a MA in Filmmaking at the London Film School. Growing up in Pfullendorf, a small town in Southern Germany, she developed an intense interest in films, particularly in the works of film director Martin Scorsese, and film editor Mark Goldblatt, who have been her biggest inspiration. Mark mentored Barbara throughout the making of her graduation film.