Iranian in Hollywood

Shohreh Aghdashloo was born Shohreh Vaziri-Tabar on May 11, 1952 in Tehran, Iran. In the 1970s at age 20, she achieved nationwide stardom in her homeland of Iran, starring in some prominent pictures such as The Report (1977) directed by the renowned Abbas Kiarostami, which won critics awards at the Moscow Film Festival. In 1978, she won wider acclaim and established herself as one of Iran's leading ladies with Desiderium (1978) directed by the late Ali Hatami. During the 1978 Islamic revolution, Aghdashloo left Iran for England, to complete her education. Her interest in politics and her concern for social injustice in the world would lead her to receive a Bachelor's degree in International Relations.

She continued to pursue her acting career, which eventually brought her to Los Angeles, California in 1987. She went on to marry actor/playwright Houshang Touzie, performing in a number of his plays, successfully taking them to national and international stages. However, this was not easy getting work in Hollywood as a Middle Eastern actress with an accent; she had roles in some decent, though not great, films, including Twenty Bucks (1993), Surviving Paradise (2000) and Maryam (2002). She received good reviews for her 12 episodes on the fourth season of the Fox television series 24 (2001) as Dina Araz, a terrorist undercover as a well-to-do housewife and mother in Los Angeles. She had to wait quite some time to receive her break in Hollywood.

And finally, years after having read the acclaimed novel "House of Sand and Fog", DreamWorks were in the process of bringing the story to the silver screen. After having cast Ben Kingsley (as Massoud Amir Behrani) and Jennifer Connelly in the lead roles, they were looking for a relatively unknown Iranian actress to play Kingsley's wife, Nadi. Shohreh Aghdashloo was duly cast. She stole the limelight and earned herself an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress amongst many other prestigious awards, including the Independent Spirit Award as best supporting actress in a feature film, the New York and Los Angeles film critics award and others.

Golshifteh started her acting career in theater at the age of 6 and has always kept a strong link with theater, but it was at the age of 14 that she acted in her first film The Pear Tree (1998), for which she won the prize for the Best Actress from the international section of the Fajr film festival, immediately making her one of the stars of Iranian cinema. Since then she has played in more than 15 films, many of which have been screened or awarded at international festivals. Amongst her latest films are Bahman Ghobadi's Half Moon (2006) (winner of the Golden Seashell at the San Sebastián film festival 2006), Dariush Mehrjui's controversial The Music Man (2007), still banned in Iran, and the late Rasool Mollagholi Poor's M like Mother (2006), which after a huge success in Iran was chosen to represent Iran for the Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards in 2008. After playing in Body of Lies (2008) by Ridley Scott, Golshifteh became the first Iranian star to act in a major Hollywood production. Subsequently she was banned from her country. Her last film in Iran About Elly (2009) won a Silver Bear in Berlin and the Best Narrative Feature at Tribeca (2009). Golshifteh graduated from music school, she sings and plays the piano amongst other instruments. She is also fluent in French and English and lives in Paris now.

Nazanin Boniadi's film and television credits are a testament to her versatility, spanning a breadth of genres including drama, comedy, sci-fi, fantasy and action. She recently starred as Bronwyn in the first season of Amazon's global hit series adaptation The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), she also starred alongside J.K. Simmons in the critically acclaimed Starz series Counterpart (2017), created and produced by Justin Marks. She was the female lead of the Thunder Road / Bleecker Street feature Hotel Mumbai (2018) from director Anthony Maras, in which she starred opposite Dev Patel and was nominated for an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Award (AACTA), as well as had a supporting role in the Jay Roach and Charles Randolph's Roger Ailes film BOMBSHELL for Lionsgate and BRON opposite Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie. She also portrayed Ester in the 2016 major motion picture Ben-Hur (2016), and had a supporting role in Jon Favreau's Iron Man (2008).

Among her many television credits, Boniadi earned an outstanding drama ensemble SAG nomination for her work on Showtime's hit series Homeland (2011) in which she played CIA analyst Fara Sherazi. She portrayed Nora, a relatively longstanding love interest to Neil Patrick Harris's Barney Stinson, in seasons six and seven of How I Met Your Mother (2005). She also appeared as the notorious Adnan Salif in season three of Shonda Rhimes' hit political drama Scandal (2012).

Born in Tehran in the direct aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, Boniadi's parents relocated to London, England, shortly thereafter, where she was raised with an emphasis on education. While she was involved in theatre early in life, Boniadi later decided she wanted to become a physician. She moved to the United States at the age of 19 to attend the University of California, Irvine, where she received her Bachelor's Degree, with Honors (Dean's Academic Achievement and Service Award) in Biological Sciences, and won the "Chang Pin Chun" Undergraduate Research Award for her work in heart-transplant rejection and cancer research.

Switching gears to pursue her first love, Boniadi then decided to study acting, which included training in Contemporary Drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London under the supervision of dramaturge Lloyd Trott.

Boniadi is fluent in both English and Persian. She is also a longtime, renowned human rights activist, with a focus on her homeland Iran. Among her numerous recognitions she is the 2023 Sydney Peace Prize laureate. She has served as an ambassador for Amnesty International UK since 2020, and has been a member of the board of directors of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran since 2023. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Asghar Farhadi is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is considered one of the most prominent filmmakers of Iranian cinema as well as world cinema in the 21st century. His films have gained recognition for their focus on the human condition, and portrayals of intimate and challenging stories of internal family conflicts. In 2012, he was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. That same year, he also received the Legion of Honour from France.

Farhadi was born in Isfahan, Iran. At the age of 15, in 1987, he joined the Isfahan branch office of the Iranian Youth Cinema Society, which had been established for 4 years earlier and he made several short films. He is also a graduate of theatre, with a BA in dramatic arts and MA in stage direction from University of Tehran and Tarbiat Modares University, respectively.

While completing his studies, he wrote a number of radio plays for Iran's national broadcasting service and directed several television programs. In 2001 Farhadi co-wrote the screenplay for the political satire Ertefa-e past (Low Heights, 2002), with famed war film director, Ebrahim Hatamikia.

Farhadi's first feature film, Dancing in the Dust (2003), tells the story of a young man who is forced to divorce his wife and go hunting snakes in the desert in order to repay his debts to his in-laws. His next film, The Beautiful City (2004), is about a young man who is sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit.

Farhadi's breakthrough came with his third film, About Elly (2009), which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. The film tells the story of a group of friends who go on a weekend trip to the Caspian Sea, and the secrets that are revealed over the course of the weekend.

Farhadi's next film, A Separation (2011), won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film tells the story of a middle-class Iranian couple who are going through a divorce, and the moral dilemmas they face as they try to decide what is best for their young daughter.

Farhadi's subsequent films, The Past (2013) and The Salesman (2016), were also critically acclaimed. The Salesman won a second Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Farhadi's latest film, A Hero (2021), was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. The film tells the story of a man who is released from prison and tries to win back his wife's trust.

Farhadi's films are known for their their complex and suspenseful plots, their realistic characters, and their exploration of moral dilemmas. His films often deal with themes of family, relationships, and social class.

Farhadi is a master of creating suspense, and his films are often compared to those of Alfred Hitchcock. He is also a skilled director of actors, and his films have featured some of the most celebrated Iranian actors, including Shahab Hosseini, Leila Hatami, and Taraneh Alidoosti.

In 2022, Farhadi was accused of plagiarism by a former student, who claimed that he had stolen the idea for his film A Hero from a documentary she had made. Farhadi denied the allegations, and a court in Iran eventually ruled in his favor. However, the allegations have tarnished Farhadi's reputation and raised questions about his creative process.

Asghar Farhadi is one of the most important filmmakers of our time. His films are both entertaining and thought-provoking, and they offer a unique insight into Iranian society and culture. He is a true auteur, and his work is sure to be studied and admired for many years to come.

Bob Yari was born on 30 May 1961 in Iran. He is a producer and director, known for Crash (2004), Papa Hemingway in Cuba (2015) and Agent Cody Banks (2003).

Christiane Amanpour was born on 12 January 1958 in London, England, UK. She is a writer and producer, known for Zoolander 2 (2016), Iron Man 2 (2010) and Trash (2014). She was previously married to James Rubin.

Barbet Schroeder was born on 26 August 1941 in Tehran, Iran. He is a director and producer, known for Our Lady of the Assassins (2000), Single White Female (1992) and Barfly (1987). He has been married to Bulle Ogier since April 1991.

Farhad Safinia was born in 1975 in Tehran, Iran. He is a writer and producer, known for Apocalypto (2006), The Professor and the Madman (2019) and Boss (2011). He has been married to Laura Regan since 2007.

Adrian Pasdar was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Rosemarie Pasdar (née Sbresny), who owns a travel agency, and Homayoon Pasdar, a prominent heart surgeon. His father is Iranian and his mother, who was born in Germany, is of German, and some Polish, descent. At the age of 2, his father moved the family to Powelton, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. In high school, he excelled at football, eventually leading to a football scholarship at the University of Florida in 1983. Football may have been a promising future, had it not been for a terrible accident during his freshman year that left his face scarred and his legs badly injured. A very driven Adrian finished his freshman year in a wheelchair, doing intensive physical therapy and turning his attention to campus stage productions and rediscovered a childhood interest in writing and acting. No longer able to play football, he dropped out of school and returned home, taking a job with a theater group "People's Light and Theatre Company". Here, he worked on sound, lighting and set construction. While constructing a set, he cut off the end of his left thumb. Adrian, having the ability to turn tragedy into triumph, used his medical compensation to pay for attendance at the famous Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. At the age of 19, he auditioned for a role in Top Gun (1986). Director Tony Scott was so impressed that he wrote the part of "Chipper" just for him. This led to bigger roles in Solarbabies (1986), Streets of Gold (1986), and Kathryn Bigelow's 1987 cult vampire movie Near Dark (1987), with Adrian in the lead role of "Caleb Colton". He also appeared in Vital Signs (1990). Adrian has always been an actor ahead of his time, opting for roles in independent and cable movies long before they were considered fashionable for feature actors to do. In 1992, feeling completely out-of-touch with reality, Adrian left Hollywood to return to New York. He worked as a cashier for room and board, while taking the occasional small part, such as "Frankie" in Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way (1993). Another major break came in 1995, when Adrian was cast as the title character on the short-lived Fox series Profit (1996). He continues to act in supporting roles and has now added directing to his already impressive body of work. He wrote and directed the short film Beyond Belief (1999) and also directed a feature film entitled Cement (2000).

Peyman Maadi was born in 1972 in New York City to an Iranian couple. His father was a lawyer. His family moved back to Iran when he was 5 years old. He graduated in Metallurgical Engineering from Karaj Azad University. Maadi started his film career as a screenwriter in late 2000s. He is the writer of several famous Iranian films. He started his acting career in Asghar Farhadi's film About Elly (2009). Two years later, he received the Silver Bear award for Best Actor in Leading Role for his performance as Nader in Farhadi's A Separation (2011) from the Berlin International Film Festival.

Mosaffa was born in Tehran, Iran. His father, Mozaher Mosaffa is a renowned Persian poet and professor of Persian literature at the University of Tehran (UT). Mosaffa's mother, Amir Banoo Karimi is also a leading scholar and professor of Persian literature at the University of Tehran (UT) and the eldest daughter of the legendary Persian poet, Amiri Firuzkuhi.

As a child, Mosaffa discovered his interest in story writing and english, contributing to his fluency in the language. He is a graduate of Civil Engineering from the University of Tehran (UT) where he showed an interest in acting; making his debut in the 1991 film, Omid. Mosaffa went on to win the prize for best male actor the following year at the Fajr International Film Festival for his role in Darius Mehrjui's film, Pari. Mosaffa met his future wife, Iranian actress Leila Hatami on the set of Dariush Mehrjui's 1996 film, Leila. The two married in 1999 and have two children, a son named Mani (born February 2007) and a daughter named Asal (born October 2008).

Mosaffa's experience with directing began with the short films, Incubus, The Neighbor and the documentary feature, Farib-e-She'r or The Deceit of Poesy. He then went on to direct his first film in 2005 with Portrait of a Lady Far Away /Sima-ye Zani Dar Doordast, starring Leila Hatami and Homayoun Ershadi which was awarded the Sutherland Trophy at the BFI London Film Festival also known as the London Film Festival. His first feature film subsequently won the hearts of the audience winning the People's Choice Award at the Chicago International Film Festival and was nominated for the Crystal Globe at the 2005 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Mosaffa's second film, The Last Step /Pele ye Akhar, starring Leila Hatami has received acclaim from critics and audiences worldwide following its international premiere at the 2012 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival which gained Mosaffa the international critics' FIPRESCI prize for best film and awarded Leila Hatami with the Crystal Globe for Best Actress for her leading role in the film.

In October 2012, Mosaffa joined Oscar winning director of A Separation, Asghar Farhadi in Paris; starring alongside Bérénice Bejo and Tahar Rahim for Farhadi's first foreign language film, "Le Passé" or "The Past" set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2013.

Homayoun Ershadi is an Iranian actor, known for his debut role in Taste of Cherry (1997), and several Iranian and other films since then, including Hollywood movies The Kite Runner and Zero Dark Thirty. Ershadi studied architecture in Italy, graduating in 1970 and worked as an architect for many years. He was discovered as an actor by acclaimed Iranian New Wave film director, Abbas Kiarostami. While Ershadi was sitting in his car in traffic in Tehran he was approached by Kiarostami and eventually chosen to play the leading role in the film, Taste of Cherry. In 2007 he was cast in The Kite Runner, a film about two young boys growing up in Afghanistan.

Babak Karimi was born on 22 March 1960 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He is an actor and editor, known for The Salesman (2016), The Past (2013) and A Separation (2011).

Yara Shahidi was born on 10 February 2000 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Salt (2010), Black-ish (2014) and Grown-ish (2018).

Bahar Soomekh was born on March 30, 1975 in Tehran, Iran, to a Persian Jewish family. She is the daughter of Manijeh and Hamid Soomekh, who owned a women's high fashion company. She has a sister, Saba Soomekh. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1979, to escape the Iranian revolution. She attended a yeshiva, Sinai Akiba Academy, and Beverly Hills High School, where she played the violin in the school orchestra. She majored in environmental studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Soomekh began working at a corporate job, and took acting classes at night, before quitting her job to pursue a full-time acting career.

Bahar began acting at age 27, guest starring in television shows like Without a Trace (2002), 24 (2001), JAG (1995), among others. She got her big break portraying an Iranian-American woman named Dorri, speaking fluent English and Farsi, in the Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Crash (2004). The whole cast won the Screen Actor's Guild Award for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture. Bahar also appeared in the director's cut version of another Academy Award winning movie, Syriana (2005), playing Yassi. Bahar got some more attention playing Davian's translator in Mission: Impossible III (2006). She had a leading role in the horror film Saw III (2006), playing a victim, Dr. Lynn Denlon. She had also portrayed Margo on the television series Day Break (2006). Recently, Soomekh got one of the lead roles as Hollis on the television series The Oaks (2008), which will come out in the fall of 2008.

Sarah Shahi was born Aahoo Jahansouzshahi in Euless, Texas, to an Iranian father and Spanish-Iranian mother. She is a former NFL cheerleader and a descendant of a 19th-century Persian Shah. She attended Trinity High School and Southern Methodist University, studied opera and majored in English. As a teenager, she won several beauty contests and took first place in the Miss Fort Worth USA pageant in 1997. She joined the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and was part of the 1999-2000 squad. She also appeared on the cover of their 2000 calendar.

While working as an extra on the set of Dr. T & the Women (2000), she met director Robert Altman, who encouraged her to move to Hollywood to pursue a career as an actress. Shahi was the first ghost in Supernatural (2005), the CW paranormal drama series. She had recurring roles in several TV series, such as Alias (2001), in which she played "Jenny"; and Dawson's Creek (1998), where she was "Sadia Shaw". She became a fan favorite in her role as the Mexican-American DJ "Carmen de la Pica Morales" in the Showtime series, The L Word (2004), which she joined in its second season. Sarah did not renew her contract with the show for a fourth season and, consequently, her character was written out.

However, she is best-known for her main role as "Sameen Shaw" on the CBS show Person of Interest (2011) playing a CIA agent turned-vigilante with a heart of gold.

She also appeared on HBO's The Sopranos (1999), in the episode Kennedy and Heidi (2007) as "Sonya Aragon", a stripper and a college student who spends a weekend with Tony after a death in his family. Although uncredited by most sources, Sarah also appeared in the Jackie Chan film, Rush Hour 3 (2007), as one of the girls being handcuffed along with Mia Tyler for a traffic offense by Chris Tucker early in the film. She also starred with Damian Lewis in the NBC show, Life (2007).

Sarah speaks English, Farsi, and some Spanish, and has a brown belt in karate.

Nadia Bjorlin was born the fifth out of six children. Her parents were Ulf Björlin (a Swedish conductor and composer, known to be the world's most active opera composer during the 20th century) and Fary Bjorlin. Her siblings are Katja, Kaj, Kamilla, Ulf Jr and Jean Paul. (Each sibling have a history of artistic or creative work in their background. A very stunning and talented family indeed). Nadia was born in Newport, Rhode Island (USA), but her family soon moved to Sweden. This was only for a few short years before moving back to the USA again.

Nadia worked the opera scene before becoming an actress. It was a fast lane change by a sudden contract with NBC who needed an opera singing girl for a permanent part in a television series. Nadia has since then appeared in both movies and TV series. She has played lead characters in big screen productions and she has been a guest star in shows like CSI, Two an a half men, Two Broke Girls, as well as other comedy shows. Her talent is strong in comedy as well as in drama. She is also quite the dancer, which can be seen in Ricky Martin's music video "Shake Your Bon Bon". She was second runner up placing in Miss Teen Florida. Her voice won a sought after first place in a world proclaimed a opera competition in Italy.

Nadia is fluent in Swedish, English and Farsi. Because of her education in opera, she is schooled in several more languages like Italian and French. Nadia was a child prodigy who excelled in her studies at school as well as voice, theater, dance, and music. She started her professional career at six years old and won several awards while attending the Interlochen Center for the Arts and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.

She currently (2014) lives in California. Her school years were mostly in Palm Beach, Florida and New York. Her most beloved father died of leukemia in 1993. This has inspired Nadia to become a spokesperson and represent The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for many years now.

Shermine Sharivar was born on 17 September 1982 in Tehran, Iran. She is an actress, known for Alarm für Cobra 11 - Die Autobahnpolizei (1996), Traveling Light (2021) and Die Verräter (2023).

Nicole, the daughter of two prominent Iranian-American journalists, Nader Sadighi and Shahla Arasteh, grew up in London, England.

She has worked with Producer Georgia Masters (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) whom she'd worked with previously on the BAFTA nominated 'One Night Stand' starring Jemma Redgrave (Howard's End, Dracula, Doctor Who) and James Purefoy, (The Following, Revenge, A Knight's Tale, Resident Evil).

More recently winning many awards for starring in the foreign-language film 'I Am Neda', a passion project which was also her directorial debut at the 65th Cannes International Film Festival's American Pavilion. 'I Am Neda' also stars award-winning actress Mary Apick, (Dead End, Checkpoint, Homeland).

'I Am Neda' is an Iranian language film with English subtitles, based on a true story of the young Iranian woman Neda Agha Soltan whose murder went viral for the world to see, 'I Am Neda' has received a lot of attention from the press such as the Huffington Post and legendary film critics like F.X. Feeney of LA Weekly for its heartwarming yet controversial subject matter.

Being a passionate advocate of many causes, Nicole is keenly committed to exposing human rights violations across the globe. She was also a former fellow researcher at the Center for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy for Iran. She is often approached as a keynote spokesperson on behalf of numerous non-profit human rights groups and NGOs, both domestically and internationally . One of Nicole's most prominent invitations was from the famous group 'Hands Off Cain' in Rome, Italy, where she was invited alongside distinguished panelists, Italian politicians Marco Pannella and Daniele Capezzone. The conference was held in support of the UN General Assembly Resolution for the universal moratorium on capital punishment, which was also presented to the European Commission.

She not only has an artistic flair as a creative writer but has been a freelance writer for many leading publications and newspapers for a number of years.

Fortune led her to find the insight and inspiration to write, produce and direct her very first award-winning short film, 'I Am Neda', which she starred in as Neda, while also adding another hyphenate in front of her name as director. It was at this time she founded her own production company Persepolis Pictures.

The film has since won 11 awards and has received 21 nominations at different film festivals, such as USA Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival's American Pavilion. Including nominations for Best Actress for her performance as Neda, Best Director and Best Screenplay for 'I Am Neda'. In an interview with the BBC, Nicole commented: "As an actress who wore many hats for the making of I Am Neda, to also be recognized for my written and directorial debut is beyond thrilling. This film has been a huge endeavor for me, and there were so many challenges on the way. It has given me new found respects for the "Clint Eastwoods'" of the world who have not only written and directed but at times have starred in their own movies."

I Am Neda has won at the following film festivals:

Platinum Remi Special Jury Award: WorldFest Houston Int'l Film Festival 2012 Finalist: Cannes The American Pavilion for Emerging Filmmakers 2012 Finalist: USA Film Festival 2012 Best International Short: Burbank Int'l Film Festival 2012 Best Drama Short: Action on Film Int'l Film Festival 2012 Atlantis Award Best Film Score:(Rino Amato)Moondance Int'l Film Fest 2012 Best Short: World Music and Independent Film Festival 2012 Honorable Mention: Los Angeles Movie Awards 2012 Honorable Mention: Hollywood and Vine Film Festival 2012 Semi-Finalist: Best Short Film: Moondance Int'l Film Festival 2012

I Am Neda has been nominated at the following film festivals:

Official Selection Focus on World Film Montreal World Film Festival 2012 Nominated Best Actress in a Short (Nicole Kian Sadighi): WMI Film Fest 2012 Nominated Best Director in a Short(Nicole Kian Sadighi): WMI Film Fest 2012 Nominated Best Supporting Actress in a Short(Mary Apick): WMI Film Fest 2012 Nominated Best Screenplay Short (Nicole Kian Sadighi): WMI Film Fest 2012 Nominated Best Dialogue: Action on Film Int'l Film Festival 2012 Nominated Audience Choice Awards: Beverly Hills Film Festival 2012 Nominated Best Film: American Insights Free Speech Film Festival 2012 Nominated Best Foreign Film: BeFilm The Underground Film Festival 2012 Official Selection: Arpa Int'l Film Festival Official Selection 2012 Official Selection 2011: Santa Rosa International Film Festival.

Ms. Sadighi interviewed by has been interviewed and featured by C-Span, The Huffington Post, BBC, Associated Press, France24, Los Angeles Times, CCTV, Paris Match, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, Christian Science Monitor, Radio Vaticana, LA Observed, FrontPage Magazine, Women's Media Center, Universal Film Magazine, Kayhan London, and many more.

Catherine was born in London, but she moved to California with her Iranian mother at the age of two. Her mother still acts as her personal assistant. As a girl, she acted in various TV advertisements. She went to UCLA to study biology/ pre-medicine, but she dropped out to become a model in Japan. She moved back into acting with a Mexican commercial for American Express, and then she followed that up by being Isabella Rossellini's nude body double in Death Becomes Her (1992), when she also met her future husband, Adam Beason, who was the director's Robert Zemeckis's assistant. As of 2018, the two reside near Los Angeles with their daughter Gemma Beason and son Ronan Beason.

Nasim Pedrad (born November 18, 1981) is an American actress and comedian best known for her five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live (1975) from 2009 to 2014. She has since gone on to co-star in sitcoms such as Mulaney (2014), Scream Queens (2015), People of Earth (2016), and New Girl (2011).

Pedrad was born in Tehran, Iran, to a Muslim family. Her parents are Arasteh Amani and Parviz Pedrad. Pedrad's family emigrated to the United States in 1984 when she was three years old. Her younger sister is comedy writer Nina Pedrad. Both sisters are fluent in Persian. The sisters were raised in Irvine, California, and graduated from University High School. Nasim graduated from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 2003. She was a member of the UCLA Spring Sing Company.

Pedrad was a performer with the Sunday Company at The Groundlings. She frequently performed her one-woman show Me, Myself & Iran at the Los Angeles divisions of ImprovOlympic and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. The show was selected for the 2007 HBO Comedy Festival in Las Vegas. She received an LA Weekly Best Comedic Performance of the Year Award as the lead in the comedic spoof After School Special.

Pedrad made her first television appearance on an episode of Gilmore Girls (2000). In 2007, she made a guest appearance on The Winner (2007). She had a recurring role on ER (1994) as Nurse Suri. In 2009, she had a guest appearance on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005).

Pedrad joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2009 as part of the 35th (2009-2010) season. Pedrad is one of a handful of cast members born outside North America (joining Italian-born Tony Rosato, New Zealand-born Pamela Stephenson, English-born Morwenna Banks, and Chilean-born Horatio Sanz). Pedrad became a repertory player in the 2011-12 season after two years of being a featured player. Pedrad left SNL in 2014 to work on Mulaney.

In 2011, she was a recurring voice on the Fox animated series Allen Gregory (2011). She appeared with a small role in the 2011 film No Strings Attached (2011). In 2012, she had a supporting voice role in the animated feature film The Lorax (2012) and a small appearance in The Dictator (2012). In 2013, Pedrad had another supporting voice role in Despicable Me 2 (2013). In the autumn of 2014, she left Saturday Night Live to star in a new Fox sitcom, Mulaney. On October 18, 2014, Fox shut down production of the series by reducing the 16-episode order by three episodes. Filming for the thirteenth episode had just been completed prior to the order reduction, and the fourteenth episode was about to enter production.

Beginning in 2015, Pedrad has a recurring guest role as LAPD officer Aly Nelson on the Fox sitcom New Girl. She portrayed Gigi Caldwell in season one of Fox horror-comedy Scream Queens.

In 2016, she appeared in a commercial for Old Navy alongside comedian Kumail Nanjiani and other SNL cast members Cecily Strong and Jay Pharoah.

In 2017, she joined the cast of season two of the TBS comedy series People of Earth. Later that same year, she also made guest appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013).

Leyla--AKA Lucky #13 can be seen on several hit network shows, several upcoming motion picture releases, as well as a new nationally televised Budweiser commercial.

As Brittany, "the girl on the go in the 310," Leyla Milani adds to her ever growing list of film credits, appearing in this highly acclaimed independent movie, The Boys and Girls Guide to Getting Down. The theatrical opening of the feature film will occur nationwide on March 16, 2007. You can also see Leyla "Bring it" on her WWE Raw "Fan-nation" promos airing all year on USA network. Another of Leyla's feature film projects to be released later in the year is an award-winning horror film, "Wrestle Maniac."

In addition to her work on the large screen, Ms. Milani co-stars in the television show, My Network TV's "Desire: Table for Three." She's also co-starred in an episode of the hit series on Showtime, "Sleeper Cell" and her guest co-starring role on FOX TV's "Stacked" saw her face-off against Pam Anderson. Her appearance on the series "Las Vegas," - a guest starring spot along side Josh Duhamel and James Caan as a sexy diamond thief -- had male viewers on the edge of their seats. She'll be a co-star on Will and Jada Pinket - Smith's television series, "All of Us," and when Howie Mandel says "Open the Case" on the hit TV show, NBC's "Deal or No Deal," it seems that "Lucky Number 13" -- aka Leyla -- is a heartbreaker in real life and television. She always seems to have hundreds of thousands of dollars in her possession... enough to break the heart of any contestant, guy or girl.

Some of her newly cultivated legions of fans recognize Leyla as the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) Raw Diva Search 2005 finalist and runner-up. Selected from 8,000 applicants, for 8 consecutive weeks, Leyla made her way through the stiff competition and appeared live in front of millions to become the #2 Diva. As a result of her repeated appearances on WWE and the millions of viewers watching her worldwide, Leyla's website receives thousands of hits daily. In response, www.leylamilani.com, a new "members only" section will hopefully satisfy her hardcore fans. Leyla's status as "runner-up" began the constant stream of traffic on her website which continues to this day. She plans to begin "video-chatting" with her online fans later this year.

Local fame came early with Leyla hosting an after-school television show at the age of 12. With a flurry of local modeling gigs and runway appearances, she had already become an in-demand face at a very early age.

After high school, the family moved from Toronto to Los Angeles. For Leyla this was exactly where she wanted to be. With her options completely open, she enrolled in L.A's Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Amazingly, by the age of 20, Leyla Jeans Couture, her high-end contemporary denim line was already the talk of the industry. Another Leyla inspired line was also a hit with consumers, with the collection eventually finding its way into the mega Forever 21 stores, nationwide.

Her go-getter attitude paid off as Hollywood stood-up and took notice and Leyla began appearing with greater frequency on the small and large screen. She's appeared on several hit television shows including CMT's reality show, Popularity Contest, the new TNT drama, Wanted and Larry David's HBO smash, Curb Your Enthusiasm. She recently returned from Sao Paulo, Brazil where she performed on Show Fight, Brazil's version of UFC, broadcast all over South America.

With her newfound popularity and her will to succeed reaching new heights, Leyla remains in constant motion. With feature film roles in the works, the girl with that sexy mane and the heart of a lioness continues to accomplish her career goals as a sought-after host, model, actor and noted fashion designer.

Lanna Joffrey was born on 9 September 1977 in Iran. She is an actress, known for Fishing Naked (2015), The Murder Plans (2011) and Druid Peak (2014).

Nikka Far is known for Argo (2012) and Paranoid Activity (2011).

Kathreen Khavari was born in Oakland, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Avengers Assemble (2012), Big Little Lies (2017) and Insecure (2016).