Her family left Iran for the United Kingdom following the 1979 revolution, and she frequently references her Iranian heritage and reactions to it in her stand-up comedy performances.

Khorsandi rose to national prominence after her 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Asylum Speaker and her appearance at the Secret Policeman's Ball two years later.

After graduating, she worked in various roles, including at a community theatre, in a sandwich shop, as a telephone fundraiser, and as a nude life model, whilst starting her career as a stand-up comedian.

[12] That summer, she debuted at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the three-person show Pablo Diablo's Cryptic Triptych, performing between ventriloquist Mark Felgate and Russell Brand.

[16] Her 2006 show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Asylum Speaker, drew on her experience of leaving Iran and her fear upon learning of death threats to her father.

[19] Theatre academics Elaine Aston and Geraldine Harris later wrote that this show was the "act that brought her wide media attention".

[21] Khorsandi was one of the acts at The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008 show for Amnesty International;[22] writing in 2021, she reflected that this appearance "led to regular TV bookings, including Live at the Apollo, which meant I could tour.

[17]: 170  Brian Logan's review in The Guardian found the show lacking in direction, and described it as "conventional comment on geopolitics amid much directionless banter and biographical gossip".

[26] Reviewing a performance in Brighton, Sarah Lewis-Hammond wrote in The Argus that she found the show relatable, and that the audience clearly enjoyed it.

[33] In The Times, Chris Campling praised Khorsandi as "very funny" and described the show as addressing issues in a way that was "no mere retread of her general stand-up routine".

[35] She performed "Mickey" on the second episode of Let's Dance for Sport Relief 2010,[36] and later was a guest alongside Noddy Holder on Genius, hosted by Dave Gorman.

[37] Khorsandi and Holder assessed concepts suggested by the audience, such as emery boards on escalators to file fingernails whilst moving between floors.

[39] Khorsandi wrote a 2011 episode of Little Crackers, a series of short autobiographical programmes shown on Sky1, about meeting Todd Carty from Grange Hill.

[42] According to James Kettle in The Guardian, Khorsandi presented "perhaps too much information about her sex life, her hang-ups and her general mental health", although he added that the performance had the "merciful addition of an arsenal of great jokes".

[42] Victoria Lee of The Daily Telegraph commended Khorsandi in this performance for being "more open than previously" in her routine, which contained "old-fashioned filth".

From Morris Dancing to Morrissey, was summarised by Jay Richardson of The Scotsman as "a passionate love letter to the England she calls home".

[47] The Times critic Dominic Maxwell commented that Khorsandi's "playfully oversharing manner couches a passion for her topic and a knack for getting plenty said in an apparently conversational aside".

[54] Lloyd Evans, in the Australian edition of The Spectator criticised Khorsandi in 2021, writing that, "Her material is not especially strong and her greatest asset is a combative stage presence which, as she admits, springs from a deep need to show off in front of strangers.

[73] Historian Sharif Gemme felt that "While one can hear her distinctive, resonant voice reaching the punchlines at the end of the paragraphs, the final result is not impressive: neither particularly amusing nor genuinely observant.