Laila trained at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and Northwestern University.

Theatre includes Waiting for Summer (Swivel Theatre/Liverpool Arab Arts Festival/Etcetera Theatre/Old Red Lion); Unto the Breach (Al Zaytouna Dance Theatre); 66 Minutes in Damascus (LIFT/Shoreditch Town Hall/TUSB Festival, Sao Paulo); Ignorance/Jahiliyyah (Hampstead); Anchor Women (Cell Theatre, New York); The Great Recession (The Flea Theatre, New York); and Esperanza Rising (Goodman Theatre, Chicago).

TV includes Boomers and Citizen Khan.

Film includes The Ones Below.