Born in Dakar (Senegal), to a Martinican mother and a Senegalese father, Aïssatou Thiam grew up in Marseille. After starting out in modeling which gave her the opportunity to work with couturiers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Thierry Mugler, Paco Rabanne, Dior, Givenchy, among others, she also began her career as an actress in theater and cinema. and on television.

Her training with Blanche Salant (studio actor), Isabelle Sadoyan (classical theater), the Herbert Bergoff Studio (in New York where she lived for 4 years), and Jean-Louis Jacopin (contemporary theater) gave her made it possible to acquire multiple knowledge of the theatrical tool.