Bhavna Vaswani, also known professionally as Dr. Bhavna Shyamalan, is a psychology-trained humanitarian leader, resilience coach, and co-founder of the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation. She is also the wife of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, whom she met as students at New York University.
Her public work extends beyond that family connection. She holds a doctorate in clinical developmental psychology, has helped lead an international foundation since 2001, and now applies positive psychology through coaching, resilience training, and writing on her Dr. B Wellness platform.
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Professional name | Dr. Bhavna Shyamalan |
| Birth country | India |
| Academic field | Clinical developmental psychology |
| Education | New York University and Bryn Mawr College |
| Humanitarian role | Co-founder and vice president of the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation |
| Current work | Positive psychology life coach and certified resilience trainer |
| Spouse | M. Night Shyamalan |
| Children | Saleka, Ishana and Shivani Shyamalan |
| Current platform | Dr. B Wellness |
Her Psychology Education at NYU and Bryn Mawr
Bhavna was born in India and spent parts of her upbringing in several countries, including Uganda and Hong Kong, before living in the United States. That international background preceded an academic career focused on psychology and human development.
She earned a B.A. in psychology from New York University and graduated magna cum laude. She then attended Bryn Mawr College, where she completed both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in clinical developmental psychology.
Her 2005 doctoral dissertation examined the cultural construction of emotional experience, including the relationship between cultural values and emotion in Presbyterian and Hindu samples. The research connected psychological development with cultural context, a subject that complements the international outlook later visible in her humanitarian work.
A biography published with a 2021 interview also described her earlier professional experience as a therapist at counseling centers associated with Swarthmore College and Saint Joseph’s University.
Her current work is presented differently. Through Dr. B Wellness, she identifies herself as a positive psychology life coach and resilience trainer rather than offering clinical psychological treatment.
Building the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation
Bhavna and M. Night Shyamalan established the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation in 2001. She continues to serve as its co-founder and vice president, making humanitarian leadership one of the longest-running parts of her professional life.
The foundation supports emerging grassroots leaders who are working to remove barriers created by poverty and social injustice. Rather than directing communities from the outside, it invests in people who already understand the places and problems they serve.
Bhavna’s documented responsibilities have included international grantmaking, fundraising, strategic development, operations, and implementation of the foundation’s mission. She has also helped evaluate potential partners and learned directly about their work.
During a 2021 institutional event, she discussed the importance of finding leaders who had already demonstrated meaningful progress toward economic or social justice. The foundation could then strengthen their work through financial support and professional development.
Its projects have addressed issues including poverty, human trafficking, modern slavery, and other forms of exploitation. Although its priorities have evolved over more than two decades, support for local leadership and human dignity has remained central to its approach.
How International Fieldwork Influenced Her Approach
Bhavna’s foundation work has involved direct travel and organizational leadership. In a 2011 interview, she discussed research trips and project visits in India, Africa, and Central America.
She also spoke openly about having once felt apprehensive about entering unfamiliar environments. Her account did not present courage as an absence of fear. Instead, she described reaching a point at which she no longer wanted fear to determine whether she became involved.
An experience in India was particularly important in that change. Bhavna recalled hesitating before participating directly in a project, but seeing someone else ready to act helped her move past that hesitation.
That experience influenced how she discussed philanthropy. Her public statements focus less on portraying communities as passive recipients of assistance and more on recognizing the people already working to create change.
This outlook closely matches the foundation’s operating model: identify capable grassroots leaders, understand their circumstances, and provide resources that allow community-led efforts to grow.
Marriage, Children and the Family’s Philanthropic Values
Bhavna met M. Night Shyamalan while both were studying at New York University. They married in 1993 and have three daughters: Saleka, Ishana and Shivani Shyamalan.
Although her husband’s success brought greater public attention to the family, Bhavna has identified motherhood—not fame—as one of the experiences that most changed her outlook. She has also connected that change with her encounters with disadvantaged and abused children through humanitarian work.
Parenting became part of how she and her husband approached philanthropy. Bhavna explained in an interview that they wanted their daughters to understand that injustice exists while also seeing examples of people who choose to respond.
Her father, Prakash Vaswani, contributed to the foundation’s early development before he died in 2007. Bhavna credited his encouragement with helping her become more directly involved in humanitarian initiatives in India.
Family therefore appears in her public record not simply as a celebrity connection, but as part of the values that influenced her philanthropic responsibilities.
Recognition Through the Dennis Clark Solas Award
Bhavna’s humanitarian leadership received formal recognition in 2019 when the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians selected her as its Dennis Clark Solas Award honoree.
The award recognized her leadership, vision, and advocacy involving human rights and social justice. By then, she had already spent many years helping guide the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation.
Her involvement continued after the award. The foundation still identifies her as co-founder and vice president, with its work focused on leaders confronting deeply rooted social and economic problems within their communities.
Dr. B Wellness and Her Positive Psychology Work
Bhavna’s more recent professional direction centers on Dr. B Wellness. Through the platform, she presents herself as a positive psychology life coach and certified resilience trainer.
Her listed professional development includes training in applied positive psychology, positive psychology coaching, and resilience. This work builds on her academic foundation while placing greater emphasis on values, behavioral change, personal growth and responses to adversity.
Fitness has also formed part of her professional interests. A 2021 interview biography identified her as a co-owner of Vibe Vault Fit and said she had taught dance fitness since 2011; her more recent first-party material, however, centers on coaching and resilience in her current public identity.
Writing is another component of Dr. B Wellness. Her articles explore accountability, compassion, connection, stress, and resilience. She has explained that writing helps her examine questions arising from her own experiences and professional work.
The platform brings together several parts of her background. Her psychological training informs her interest in behavior and emotional development, while her humanitarian experience provides a broader perspective on dignity, responsibility, and how people respond to difficult circumstances.
Bhavna Vaswani’s Work Beyond Her Family Connection
Bhavna Vaswani is widely recognized for her marriage to M. Night Shyamalan. Still, her record includes extensive psychology training, more than two decades of foundation leadership, and a growing practice in positive psychology and resilience coaching.
Her work has moved across counseling, fitness, international philanthropy, and personal-development education. The consistent connection between those phases is an interest in human development—both in individuals’ lives and in communities working to overcome social and economic barriers.