Shohreh Aghdashloo filmography and biography
Date of birth: 11 May 1952, Tehran, Iran
Shohreh Aghdashloo biography
Shohreh Aghdashloo was born in Tehran, Iran, on May 11, 1952. In the
1970s at age 20, she achieved nationwide stardom in her homeland of
Iran, starring in some prominent pictures such as
Gozaresh (The Report) 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 Sooteh-Delan (Broken
Hearts) 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 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. 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,
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, Surviving Paradise
and Maryam. She had to wait quite some time to get a
"Hollywood" break.
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
big 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.
Shohreh Aghdashloo trivia
- The first Iranian and Middle Eastern actress to be nominated for an
Oscar.
- Has a BA in International Relations.
- She has a daughter named Tara with Houshang Touzie.
- She played the mother of Jonathan Ahdout's character in
House of Sand and Fog and also played the mother of his
character in Season Four of the television series 24.
- Guests of Hotel Astoria was the first movie she made
outside of Iran.
- Has had rhinoplasty.
- She did her first nude scene at the age of 36, in
Guests of Hotel Astoria.
- Began acting career with Theater Workshops in Iran, where she performed
in numerous plays.
- Has a brother whose name is Shahryar.
- In 2005, she appeared on the hit Fox series 24 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 and a loving mother.
Though her playing a terrorist did attract criticism, particularly from
the Persian and Muslim community, Shohreh steadfastly defended the
role.
- Is the first Iranian actress to crossover into mainstream Hollywood
cinema.
- "Shohreh" means "famous girl" in Farsi language, and it's a popular name
for Persian women.
- Her first husband, Aydin Aghdashloo is a Persian famous artist.
- Her brother is a doctor.
- The designer of her red dress in Oscar 2004 was a Persian designer named
Simin.
- First language is Farsi.
- In Persian movies most of the time she played the leading roles.
- Daughter is a writer.
- Long black hair.
- She is interested in Farsi literature.
- As far as her 24 character goes, she said that her job
as an actress is to not judge the character but to portray her as
objectively and honestly as possible.
- 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 in year 1978 just a year
before Iran's revolution.
- Her close friend is Marcia Gay Harden.
- Benazir Bhutto has always been one of her role-models in her life
and she wants to play her role in future.
- Both her daughter and her ex's daughter's names are Tara.