Oxman was born and raised in Haifa, Israel, to a Jewish family.
Her parents, Robert and Rivka Oxman, are both architects.
Her younger sister, Keren Oxman, is an artist.
Oxman graduated from the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa in 1994.
Oxman grew up "between nature and culture", spending time in her grandmother's garden and her parent's architectural studio.

As with most Israeli youth, Neri Oxman served in the armed forces, enlisting in the Israeli Air Force, achieving the rank of first lieutenant.
After her service, she moved to Jerusalem to enter Hebrew University's Hadassah Medical School.
After two years, she switched to studying architecture at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and then at the London Architectural Association School of Architecture, graduating in 2004.

In 2005, she moved to Boston to join the architecture PhD program at MIT, under adviser William J. Mitchell.
Her thesis was on material-aware design.
In 2010, she became an associate professor at MIT in the MIT Media Lab as the Sony Corporation Career Development Professor (so named as the position is funded with a grant from Sony).
Oxman was born and raised in Haifa, Israel, to a Jewish family. Her parents, Robert and Rivka Oxman, are both architects. Her younger sister, Keren Oxman, is an artist. Oxman graduated from the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa in 1994. Oxman grew up "between nature and culture", spending time in her grandmother's garden and her parent's architectural studio.
As with most Israeli youth, Neri Oxman served in the armed forces, enlisting in the Israeli Air Force, achieving the rank of first lieutenant. After her service, she moved to Jerusalem to enter Hebrew University's Hadassah Medical School. After two years, she switched to studying architecture at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and then at the London Architectural Association School of Architecture, graduating in 2004.
In 2005, she moved to Boston to join the architecture PhD program at MIT, under adviser William J. Mitchell. Her thesis was on material-aware design. In 2010, she became an associate professor at MIT in the MIT Media Lab as the Sony Corporation Career Development Professor (so named as the position is funded with a grant from Sony).
Neri Oxman