She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Germanic linguistics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the year 1975, marking a significant milestone in her academic journey.
Her academic pursuits continued with her enrollment in the Master of Fine Arts program in film production at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she successfully completed her graduate studies in 1979.
During her time at UCLA, she had the opportunity to serve as a research assistant, specializing in Old Icelandic language and linguistics under the guidance of renowned scholar Dr. Jesse Byock.