Alexandra Mirai (; born 23 August 1974), known professionally as Lexi Alexander, is a German-Palestinian film and television director, martial artist, and actress. She is a former World Karate Association world champion in karate-point fighting, and is best known for directing the action films Green Street Hooligans and Punisher: War Zone. Her debut short film Johnny Flynton was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. Alexander is a vocal advocate for equality in Hollywood and speaks out against gender discrimination and sexism, and promotes diversity, including a more positive and visible representation of Arabs. Early life and education Alexander was born in Mannheim, Germany, to a German mother and a Palestinian father. She grew up in Mannheim. Alexander's father was born and raised in Ramallah, Palestine. Alexander studied acting in Los Angeles at Joanne Baron's acting school learning Meisner technique and with acting coach Piero Dusa. She took extension classes in filmmaking at University of California, Los Angeles. Career Sports Alexander began studying martial arts, specifically judo, when she was 8 years old. At 14, she switched to Shotokan karate. She has a third-degree black belt in karate. Alexander excelled at kickboxing, where after two years in the sport, she joined the German National Team. She won the German point fighting championships four times and the European championships two times. In 1994, at the age of 19, Alexander became the World Kickboxing Association world champion in karate-point fighting in Atlantic City. Stunt work At the age of 19, she retired from professional fighting and moved to the United States. Alexander had met Chuck Norris at a kickboxing event in the United States and she had previously acted in small roles in German TV. Norris encouraged her to come to Hollywood to act and study filmmaking. He was one of her sponsors for immigration. With the assistance of martial artist Pat Johnson, she landed the part of Kitana in Mortal Kombat: Live Tour, and in 1995 and 1996, spent seven months on tour. Alexander went on to work steadily as a stunt person doing fighting stunts and motorcycles, falls from high-rise buildings, going on to learn precision driving and race car driving. She also partially trained Marines in hand-to-hand combat one time in 1994. Filmmaking The first film Alexander directed was called Johnny Flynton, a short film that was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003. She