Yaniv attended NYU (Tisch) Film school as a double major in Film and Dramatic Writing. After a year and a half he transferred to Vassar College, graduating in 1998 with a degree in Theater and Literature. Yaniv also attended Yale University for a program in Psychology. He has worked variously for the New York Metropolitan Opera as an assistant director in the IVIA program and on the stage as an actor, director, and writer in New York, Los Angeles, Florida, and England. Yaniv's script, "Goodbye Dali", which he co-wrote with character actor Allan Rich, is being produced by David Permut of Permut Presentations.

He is related to the famous American playwright, Clifford Odets.