Aviva Ravel was born in Montreal. She holds a Ph.D. in Canadian Theatre from McGill University, an M.A. from the Université de Montreal, and a B.A from Concordia. She taught English, Drama, and Canadian Literature at the aforementioned universities and at the College Militaire Royal. A graduate of McGill's School for Teachers, she taught in elementary schools in Montreal, on a kibbutz in Israel where she and her husband lived for thirteen years, and was a founder of Akiva School. .

     Since 1984 Aviva has been Artistic Director of Cameo Productions. She is also the founder and director of the popular Performance Playreading Ensemble of the Cote St. Luc Library that has presented over 150 plays, both classical and modern, in the theatre auditorium. She currently directs staged readings of modern Hebrew plays for the Jewish Public Library of Montreal.

     Aviva is the author of over 25 plays for both adult and young audiences which have been presented at the Saidye Bronfman Center, Centre d'art Canadien, Hart House, Revue Theatre, Fringe Festivals, community centres, and theatres across Canada. Her works have been adapted for radio and produced by CBC and Kol Israel. She has written short stories, articles, a biography, monologues, and edited two books of Canadian plays. Two plays were adapted for film. She has also translated some ten plays from English to French.

       Most of her work is set in the Jewish community of her native Montreal and deals with issues such as adoption, care for the elderly, the effects of the holocaust on victim and victimizer, the single woman in our society,  family relationships, etc

     Ravel is the recipient of many awards including the Women Write for Theatre Award, J I Segal Award, Women's Press Club award for Humour, Quebec Drama Festival Award, Women's Federation Honoree for contribution to Montreal theate, and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Quebec Award. Recently she was honored by the Association for Canadian Theater Research.

     Aviva is the mother of four children, and grandmother of seven. Her husband, Nahum, an active member of Montreal's Jewish community, passed away in 1998. In 2001 she married Albert Fleitman. Her expanded family now includes four step-children and seven more grandchildren