Akerman was born in Stockholm Sweden; her family moved to Toronto, Canada when she was two years old. Her Swedish surname Åkerman starts with the letter å, which represents the same sound as e.g. the letter o in German. The name means field man (from Swedish åker = field and man = man). She lived in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario for a short while, attending Parliament Oak Primary School, and Niagara District Secondary School. At the age of seventeen she won the Ford Supermodel of Canada search. After a career in modeling she turned to acting and now resides in California. She has had roles in several films including The Utopian Society (2003) with Sam Doumit and Austin Nichols; and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004). She has made several TV guest appearances and in 2005 got the role as Juna in the HBO series The Comeback. She has also appeared on The Showbiz Show with David Spade as a correspondent and in the third season of HBO series Entourage in the role of 'Tori'. She is also lead singer in the rock band named 'Ozono' today known as 'The Petalstones'.

Akerman is one of the lead actors in the 2007 Farrelly Brothers movie The Heartbreak Kid and also 2008's 27 Dresses. She will also play the part of Laurie Juspeczyk in the upcoming film adaptation of Watchmen.