Shohreh Aghdashloo

Shohreh Aghdashloo was born in Tehran, Iran, on May 11, 1952. ''Shohreh'' means ''famous girl'' in Farsi language, and it's a popular name for Persian women. Daughter of Anushiravan & Effie Vaziri-Tabar. Has three brothers: Shahram Vaziri-Tabar, Shahryar Vaziri-Tabar & Shahrokh Vaziri-Tabar. Her first husband, Aydin Aghdashloo is a famous Persian artist. Always introduces her ex-husband Aydin Aghdashloo as one of the best artists in the world. She was chosen to be the best actress of Iran (1978) just a year before Iran's revolution. Has one daughter with her second husband Houshang Touzie: Tara Touzie (born 1989).

In the 1970s at age 20, she achieved nationwide stardom in her homeland of Iran, starring in some prominent pictures such as Gozaresh (1977) (The Report) directed by the renowned Abbas Kiarostami, which won critics awards at the Moscow Film Festival. In 1978, she won wider acclaim & established herself as one of Iran's leading ladies with Sooteh-Delan (1978) (Broken Hearts) directed by the late Ali Hatami. In Persian movies, she played the leading roles most of the time. She was chosen to be the best actress of Iran (1978) just a year before Iran's revolution. During the 1978 Islamic revolution, Aghdashloo left Iran for England, to complete her education. Her interest in politics & her concern for social injustice in the world led her to earn a B.A. degree in International Relations.

She continued to pursue her acting career, which eventually brought her to Los Angeles in 1987. Guests of Hotel Astoria (1989) was the first movie she made outside of Iran. She went on to marry actor/playwright Houshang Touzie, performing in a number of his plays, successfully taking them to national & international stages. However, it 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) & Maryam (2002). Is the first Iranian actress to crossover into mainstream Hollywood cinema. She had to wait quite some time to get a ''Hollywood'' break.

And finally, years after having read the acclaimed novel ''House of Sand & Fog,'' Dreamworks were in the process of bringing the story to the big screen. After having cast Ben Kingsley (as Massoud Amir Behrani) & 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 & 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 & Los Angeles film critics award & others. She played the mother of Jonathan Ahdout's character in House of Sand & Fog (2003) & also played the mother of his character in Season Four of the television series 24 (2001).

In 2005, she appeared on the television series 24 (2001) playing the murderous matriarch of a Turkish/Muslim family terrorist cell. Though normally reluctant to play terrorists, Aghdashloo was attracted to the complexity of the character, which was exemplified by the contradiction between being a ruthless killer & a loving mother. Though her playing a terrorist did attract criticism, particularly from the Persian & Muslim community, Shohreh steadfastly defended the role. She said that her job as an actress is to not judge the character but to portray her as objectively & honestly as possible. Is the first Iranian & Middle Eastern actress to be nominated for an Oscar. The designer of her red dress in the 2004 Oscars was a Persian designer named Simin.

Has never appeared in a film nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Is a naturalised United States citizen. Currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Close friends with Marcia Gay Harden. Benazir Bhutto has always been one of her role models in her life & she wants to play her role in the future.
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