- Shohreh Aghdashloo
-
Shohreh Aghdashloo 
Aghdashloo at the 2008 Toronto International Film FestivalBorn Shohreh Pari Vaziri-Tabar
May 11, 1952
Tehran, IranOccupation Actress Years active 1976–present Shohreh Aghdashloo (
listen (help·info) Persian: شهره آغداشلو, IPA: [ʃohˈɾe ɒɢdɒːʃˈluː]; born May 11, 1952) is an Iranian American actress.After establishing a theatre and film career in Iran, Aghdashloo moved to England during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and subsequently became a citizen of the United States. After several years playing supporting roles in television and film, her performance in House of Sand and Fog (2003) brought her several film critics' awards and a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has continued to play supporting and character roles in film and television and won an Emmy Award for her work in the television drama House of Saddam (2008).
Contents
Early life
Aghdashloo was born in Tehran, Iran as Shohreh Pari Vaziri-Tabar ("Aghdashloo" is the family name of her former husband, Iranian painter Aydin Aghdashloo), to a wealthy Muslim family. Aghdashloo started acting at the age of 18. Following numerous starring roles on the stage, she was offered her first film role in Gozāresh (The Report) directed by director Abbas Kiarostami, which won the Critics Award at the Moscow Film Festival. Her next film was Shatranje Bad (loosely translated: Chess With The Wind), directed by Mohammad Reza Aslani which screened at several film festivals. Both films were banned in her home country, but in 1978, Aghdashloo won acclaim for her performance in Sooteh Delan (Broken Hearts), directed by the late Iranian filmmaker Ali Hatami which established her as one of Iran's leading actresses.
During the 1979 Revolution, Aghdashloo left Iran for Windermere, Cumbria, England in 1978, where she completed her education. Aghdashloo still owns a separate vacation villa that she attends during most summer parts of the year. She earned a Bachelor's degree in International Relations. She continued to pursue her acting career, however, which brought her to Los Angeles. In 1987 Aghdashloo married actor/playwright Houshang Touzie. They had one daughter in 1989. She has since performed in a number of Touzie's plays, successfully taking them to national and international stages, primarily in the Iranian community.[1]
Aghdashloo narrated a documentary called Iranium which documents the development of Iran's nuclear threat, beginning with the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the ideology installed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini; tracks Iran's use of terror as a tool of policy, beginning with the 444 day seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, through Iran's insurgent actions in Iraq and Afghanistan; details the brutal nature of the Iranian regime to its own citizens, and the Iranian people's desire to rejoin the international community; and outlines the various scenarios the greater Middle East and the Western world may face should Iran cross the nuclear threshold.[2] She came under heavy criticism for her role in the movie from organizations in the Iranian Diaspora, such as the National Iranian American Council.[3] Criticism of the movie and her role in it were also documented by BBC Persian.[4]
Career in the United States
Aghdashloo made her American film debut in 1989 in a starring role in Guests of Hotel Astoria. Her TV debut came in 1990 in a guest role in the 25 September, two-hour episode of the NBC television series Matlock, titled "Nowhere to Turn: A Matlock Mystery Movie". Aghdashloo played a saleslady and was credited for this simply as Shohreh. She returned to American TV three years later when she played a guest role in the popular comedy series Martin. In the episode from April 1, 1993, she played the character Malika. In that same year she also made her next film appearance in Twenty Bucks, playing Ghada Holiday.
After seven years, Aghdashloo returned once again to the American film industry in 2000, starring in the critically acclaimed Surviving Paradise(راز بهشت), the first English language Iranian-American feature film released in the United States[citation needed], written and directed by Kamshad Kooshan. Having been shown at major International Film Festivals, Surviving Paradise went on to become one of the most well received Iranian films in the U.S. Aghdashloo made a brief two-episode performance in short-lived Honduran television series, The Honduran Suburbs, in which she played Zereshk, an Iranian woman who had arrived in the country to help the poor situation.[5] In that year she also starred in Maryam (in which she played Mrs. Armin). After appearing as an exiled actress in America So Beautiful in 2001, Aghdashloo played opposite Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly in director Vadim Perelman's House of Sand and Fog (2003).[6] She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress,[7] however the award was won by Renee Zellweger for Cold Mountain.
Following this exposure, she received good reviews for her 12 episodes on Season 4 of the Fox Broadcasting Company television series 24,[8] playing Dina Araz, a terrorist undercover in Los Angeles as a well-to-do housewife and mother. This storyline raised controversy in Iranian-American and Muslim-American communities, and in an interview with Time magazine, Aghdashloo stated that although she had previously resisted reinforcing the stereotype of Muslims as terrorists, the strength and complexity of the role convinced her to accept the part. She went on to guest star on two episodes of NBC shows that were broadcast the same night, March 23, 2006: The "Cowboys and Iranians" episode of the comedy Will & Grace, in which she played a wannabe interior designer who, to the confusion of Grace, is a Persian Jew; and the "Lost in America" episode of the medical drama ER, playing a bereaved mother who loses her daughter in the trauma room. Her real daughter Vanessa played the young girl.
Aghdashloo continued to appear in films. She played Dr. Adani in the 2005 movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose and also appeared as the Asian-Indian Dr. Kavita Rao in the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand. Two other parts also came her way in 2006, that of a wealthy housewife whose family lovingly takes in their cousin (who has been sent by Pakistani terrorists to kill the American president) in the satirical comedy American Dreamz and that of Dr. Anna Klyczynski, friend and colleague to Sandra Bullock's character Kate, in The Lake House.
On January 19, 2011, Aghdashloo starred in "Dirty", an episode of the NBC crime drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Detective Saliyah 'Sunny' Qadri.
Her other credits include narrating and producing a documentary Mystic Iran: The Unseen World, narrating the PBS documentary Iran: A Celebration of Art and Culture, narrating the audiobook version of Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia and lending her vocal talents to animated movie Babak and Friends- A First Norooz. She also starred in the 2004 one-hour-long pilot episode "The Secret Service" (which was not picked up) and played the character Charlie in two of three aired episodes of the flopped TV series Smith.
At the end of 2006, Aghdashloo appeared as Elizabeth, cousin of the Virgin Mary, in the biblical film The Nativity Story. Aghdashloo has noted the irony that she is a Muslim playing a Jewish character.[9]
In the movie Mona's Dream, Aghdashloo portrays Mona's mother, who is a Baha'i.[10]
Aghdashloo plays the lead character, Zahra Khanum, in the movie The Stoning of Soraya M., a drama film released on June 26, 2009 in the United States.[11] This film marks the first time during her career in America where she plays a leading character in a major feature-length motion picture.
Aghdashloo won a 2009 Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Movie/Miniseries, her first Emmy, for her supporting role on the HBO original miniseries, House of Saddam.
Speaking to a crowd of over 1,400 people at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium on September 12, 2009, Aghdashloo, author Dr. Azar Nafisi, and Dr. Dwight Bashir, Associate Director for Policy at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, added their voices to those concerned about human rights in Iran and the persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran.[12] Aghdashloo's talk in particular was posted to YouTube.[13]
Aghdashloo voiced Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay, a character from the videogame Mass Effect 2.[14]
On October 9, 2010, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans awarded Aghdashloo their Career Achievement Award during its first annual gala.[15]
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1976 Shatranje Bad 1977 Gozaresh 1978 Sooteh-Delan Aghdas 1989 Guests of Hotel Astoria Mrs. Pori Karemnia first American film role 1991 Raha Raha 1993 Twenty Bucks Ghada Holiday 2000 Surviving Paradise (راز بهشت) Pari First English language Iranian-American feature film distributed theatrically in the United States, written and directed by Kamshad Kooshan 2001 America So Beautiful Exiled Actress 2002 Maryam Mrs. Homa Armin 2003 Possessed Woman Short film by Shirin Neshat 2003 Pulse Woman Short film by Shirin Neshat 2003 Mystic Iran Narrator Documentary film by Aryana Farshad 2003 House of Sand and Fog Nadereh 'Nadi' Behrani Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated–Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress2005 The Exorcism of Emily Rose Dr. Sadira Adani 2005 Babak and Friends- A First Norooz Farah Animated movie 2006 American Dreamz Mrs. Nazneen Riza 2006 The Lake House Dr. Anna Klyczynski 2006 X-Men: The Last Stand Dr. Kavita Rao 2006 The Nativity Story Elizabeth 2008 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 Prof. Nasrin Mehani 2008 The Stoning of Soraya M. Zahra Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama 2009 In NorthWood Dr. Lofton Completed 2010 The Adjustment Bureau Did not appear in final cut 2010 The No Game Aunt Laila Pre-production 2010 Mass Effect 2 Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay (voice) Completed 2011 Iranium Narrator Documentary film by Alex Traiman 2011 On the Inside Dr. Lofton Post-production Television Year Title Role Notes 1990 Matlock Saleslady 1 episode 1993 Martin Malika 1 episode 2001 The Honduran Suburbs Zereshk 2 episodes[5] 2004 The Secret Service Lila Ravan 1 episode 2005 24 Dina Araz 12 episodes
Nominated–Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film2006 Smith Charlie 5 episodes 2006 Will & Grace Pam 1 episode 2006 ER Mrs. Riza Kardatay 1 episode 2007 Grey's Anatomy Dr. Helen Crawford 1 episode 2008 House of Saddam Sajida Khairallah Talfah 4 episodes
Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie2008 The Simpsons Mina 1 episode 2009 FlashForward Nhadra Udaya Recurring role[16] 2011 Law and Order: Special Victims Unit Detective Saliyah "Sunny" Qadri 1 episode 2011 House M.D. Afsoun Hamidi 1 Episode 2011 NCIS Miriam 1 Episode Other awards
- 2007: Arpa Career Achievement Award
- 2006: WAALM — Persian Golden Lioness Award
See also
- Iranian women
- List of famous Persian women
References
- ^ source: House Of Sand And Fog DVD – Biographies
- ^ Iranium official site
- ^ National Iranian American Council
- ^ "BBC Persian Iranium Aghdashloo", YouTube, February 8, 2011
- ^ a b TV Guide: The Honduran T.V. series makes cameos for two unusual characters in Hollywood.
- ^ "House of Sand and Fog Movie – Shohreh Aghdashloo Interview". Movies.about.com. 2010-06-17. http://movies.about.com/cs/houseofsandandfog/a/hsofsa121203.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ Monday, Jan. 24, 2005 (2005-01-24). "Q&A: Shohreh Aghdashloo". TIME. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1018068,00.html. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ Bianco, Robert (2010-05-21). "At the end of the day, Jack Bauer and '24' delivered". Usatoday.Com. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/reviews/2010-05-19-24appreciation19_ST_N.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ Stanley, John (2006-11-26). "'Nativity' Revisited". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/26/PKG2SMDKVJ1.DTL&type=movies. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
- ^ "Azar Nafisi, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Dwight Bashir Join Swelling Chorus in Support of Iranian Baha'is". Dcbahai.org. 2009-09-12. http://www.dcbahai.org/news-and-events/74-iranevent09. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "Shohreh speaks against stoning". Dailymailnews.com. 2010-07-17. http://dailymailnews.com/0710/17/ShowBiz/index.php?id=3. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "Azar Nafisi, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Dwight Bashir Join Swelling Chorus in Support of Iranian Baha'is". Bahá'í Community of DC,News & Events (Bahai Faith, Washington DC). 2009-09-12. http://www.dcbahai.org/news-and-events/74-iranevent09. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
- ^ Aghdashloo, Shohreh (2009-09-21). "Shohreh Aghdashloo on Baha'i Human Rights in Iran". ctcny9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yeb_HDTRkbA&fmt=18. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
- ^ Post a comment. "Celebrity cast announced for Mass Effect 2 game". TechShout. http://www.techshout.com/gaming/2009/11/celebrity-cast-announced-for-mass-effect-2-game/. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "Announcing the First PAAIA Annual Gala", Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans], October 9, 2010
- ^ "Shohreh Aghdashloo joins Flash Forward". Tvguidemagazine.com. 2010-01-08. http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/news/exclusive-shohreh-aghdashloo-joins-flash-forward--1756.html. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
External links
- Shohreh Aghdashloo at the Internet Movie Database
- Shohreh Aghdashloo at AllRovi
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Miniseries or a Movie (2001–2025) Tammy Blanchard (2001) · Stockard Channing (2002) · Gena Rowlands (2003) · Mary-Louise Parker (2004) · Jane Alexander (2005) · Kelly Macdonald (2006) · Judy Davis (2007) · Eileen Atkins (2008) · Shohreh Aghdashloo (2009) · Julia Ormond (2010) · Maggie Smith (2011)
Complete List · (1979–2000) · (2001–2025) Categories:- American film actors
- American television actors
- Emmy Award winners
- American actors of Asian descent
- American people of Iranian descent
- Independent Spirit Award winners
- Iranian film actors
- Iranian emigrants to the United States
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- People from Tehran
- 1952 births
- Living people
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