She then studied acting at the Sophie Moskowitz School of Acting in Tel Aviv. Lavi studied ballet and modern dance at the Kiryat Sharet high school in Holon, Israel. Another of her role models was Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer. One of her early inspirations was the performance of Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman in Léon: The Professional.
During that time, she watched movies, and 'fell in love with cinema'. As a child, she suffered from asthma, and had to use a nebulizer for 45 minutes at a time. Her mother is of Sephardic Jewish (Moroccan-Jewish) descent, whereas her father is of Ashkenazi Jewish (Polish-Jewish) descent. Lavi was born and raised in Ramat Gan, Israel.
