Born in London, England, El Khalil spent her childhood in Nigeria and then attended high school in England. She then went to Beirut where she attained her undergraduate degree from the American University in Beirut. In 2002 El Khalil received her Masters of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York.El Khalil works in a variety of formats ranging from painting, installation, performance, mixed media, writing, video, and collage.