IVA KANEVA was born on May 16, 1983, in Sofia. In 2005, she graduated with a degree in "Acting for Drama Theatre" from the 'Krastyo Sarafov' National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in the class of prof. Krikor Azaryan. She earned her diploma with the role of Agafya Tikhonovna in "Marriage" by Nikolai V. Gogol, directed by Ivan Urumov.

In 2005, she became a part of the ensemble at the 'Nikola Vaptsarov' Drama Theatre and made her debut on Blagoevgrad's stage in the role of Cinderella in "Cinderella" by Charles Perrault, directed by Ventsislav Asenov. 

Her roles in the theatre include: 

• Katya in "Valentine's Day" by Ivan Viripaev, director Alexander Sabev (2006);
• Miss Tsanevska in "Chernodrinski is coming home" by Goran Stefanovski, director Ivan Dobchev (2006);
• First Doctor in "Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner" by Natalia Mashina, director Garo Ashikyan (2007);
• Maria in "Dragon's Wedding" by Petko Todorov, director Krum Philipov (2008);
• Catherina in in "I Hear Your Voices" by Dimitar Talev, director Boyko Bogdanov (2010);
• The Mother in "The Transfiguration" by Franz Kafka, director Veselka Kuncheva (2023);
• Maria in "A Comedy of Tenors" by Ken Ludwig, director Asen Blatechki (2023);

Her roles outside "Nikola Vaptsarov" Drama Theatre include: 

• Vena in "Golemanov" by Stefan L. Kostov, director Marius Kurkinski (Little City Theatre "Off The Channel", 2006);
• Agatha in "Crime on Goat Island" by Ugo Betti, director Karina-Velislava Somnoeva (NATFA Theatre, 2024);