Mandana was born in 1967 to her Welsh father and Iranian Mother. Her Head of English encouraged her to take up acting when she was unsure what she wanted to do with her life. She began building up her CV and one of her first jobs was an usherette in London's West End.　　Then she got into drama school (the same one attended by "Bad Girls" (1999) co-star Helen Grace) The Drama School. Her theatre credits include 'Midsummer Nights Dream' at the National in 1992, 'Hove' at the National 1993 and ''Resolution' at the Battersea Arts Centre 1994. Previously she did Julius Caesar (Compass/No 1 tour), The Merchant of Venice, Volpone (English Shakespeare Company), (The Merchant of Venice and Volpone, after a visit to the Globe Theatre in Tokyo, completed a twentyfour week UK tour), Cymbeline/The Wager (Start Here Productions tour including the Lyric and Birmingham Rep Studios).　　She was also in a film called Flesh and Blood. Her role on ITV award winning drama 'Bad Girls' is what most people associate her with. Mandana became a gay icon to millions of women through her role on Bad Girls playing Nikki Wade and is very proud of the shows achievements. But before Nikki she played parts such as a Doctor on "London Bridge" (1995).　　Her 2003 role on BBC1 afternoon play 'Coming Up For Air' was playing the part of Sarah, the love interest of Jeremy Sheffields character Tom.