Alina Șerban was born on 29 October 1987 in Bucharest, Romania. When she was eight years old, her parents, Romanian Roma, lost their home and the family was forced to move to her father's extended family. A few years later, Șerban's mother was sent to prison; from then on, Alina Șerban grew up in a children's home. She was the first member of her family to receive a high school diploma, followed by studies at the Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in Bucharest (2006-2009). During her studies, the diaries of her youth served as a model for the tragicomic one-person plays "Slumdog Roma" and "Two weeks, maximum one month, maybe six years", with which she performed at the International Romani Art Festival in Bucharest in 2009 and 2010. Șerban also made her debut in front of the camera as a student, with a leading role in the British adventure series "The Last Enemy", in which she played alongside Benedict Cumberbatch.

From 2011 to 2012 she completed a master's programme at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London as a scholarship holder. In 2012 she received the award for "Best Romanian Student in the UK" from the Romanian Embassy.

In the following years, Alina Șerban wrote three highly acclaimed and award-winning plays dealing with various aspects of Roma history: "I Declare at My Own Risk" (2012, based on "Slumdog Roma"), "Home" (2013) and "The Great Shame" (2016), on the long tabooed issue of Roma enslavement in Romania. In 2016 she also published the first collection of Roma fairy tales in Romania, based on stories told by one of her aunts. For her multifaceted commitment to Roma culture, Serban received, among others, the Roma of the Year Award from the National Centre of Roma Culture in Romania.

In addition to her theatre work, Alina Șerban has been involved in several short films and television productions since 2015. She had her first leading role on the big screen as a single Roma in the Belgian production "Seule à mon mariage" (2018), which was shown at several festivals before it had a wider theatrical release. For her leading role as a single mother and boxer in Hüseyin Tabak's "Gipsy Queen" (DE/AT 2019) she was awarded Best Actress at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and received a nomination for the German Film Award 2020.