Shohreh Aghdashloo

Her next two films The Report (1977) and Sooteh Delan (1977) garnered critical acclaim and established Aghdashloo as one of Iran's leading ladies, although the films were banned in Iran itself. Aghdashloo moved to England during the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and then to the United States, subsequently becoming a U.S. citizen. After several years playing small 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. Her other film appearances include The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), X-Men: The Last Stand and The Nativity Story (both 2006), The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016). In television, she is best known for her roles as Dina Araz in the fourth season of 24 and as Chrisjen Avasarala on The Expanse (2015–2022). For her role as Sajida Talfah in the HBO miniseries House of Saddam (2008), she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. In 2013, she released her autobiography titled The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines. In 2021, she voiced Grayson in Netflix's series Arcane. In 2024, Aghdashloo voiced the unnamed dragon in the 2024 Netflix film Damsel. She also voiced Admiral Raan in Mass Effect 2 & 3, and Roshan in 2023's Assassin's Creed Mirage.

• Name — Shohreh Aghdashloo • Native Name — شهره آغداشلو • Birth Name — Shohreh Vaziri-Tabar • Born — 11 May 1952 • Birthplace — Tehran, Imperial State of Iran • Citizenship — * Iran • United States • Education — Brunel University • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1976–present • Children — 1

Aghdashloo earned a bachelor's degree in international relations at Brunel University of London because of her interest in politics after having to leave her home country. She was already familiar with England, as her parents had taken her to London as a child. She then continued to pursue her acting career, which brought her to Los Angeles. She has since performed in a number of her husband Houshang Touzie's plays, successfully taking them to national and international stages, primarily in the Iranian diaspora. Though born to a Muslim family, she has stated that she is non-practicing.

• Illustration — Aghdashloo in 2008 Aghdashloo first began working as a theatre actress at the age of 19, when she starred in a theatrical adaptation of the novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North (1973). Aghdashloo made her American film debut in 1989 in a starring role in Guests of Hotel Astoria. Her television debut came on September 25, 1990, in a guest role in the two-hour episode of the NBC television series Matlock, titled "Nowhere to Turn: A Matlock Mystery Movie". In the years that followed Aghdashloo appeared on screen sporadically, including in the widely panned Surviving Paradise (2000), written and directed by Kamshad Kooshan. In 2001 Aghdashloo was cast opposite Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly in director Vadim Perelman's House of Sand and Fog (2003) for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Following this exposure Aghdashloo had a prominent recurring role in Season 4 of the Fox television series 24, playing Dina Araz, a terrorist undercover in Los Angeles as a well-to-do housewife and mother. 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 it. In the period that followed, Aghdashloo made guest appearances on several well-known television series, such as Will & Grace, ER and Grey's Anatomy. She also played supporting roles in films such as X-Men: The Last Stand as Dr. Kavita Rao, The Lake House, The Nativity Story as Elizabeth, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. In 2008, Aghdashloo served as an official festival judge at the second annual Noor Iranian Film Festival in Los Angeles, while she also played the lead character of Zahra Khanum in the film The Stoning of Soraya M., marking her first leading role in a feature-length American film. Film scholar Hamid Naficy criticized her role in the film as "discredit[ing] her vow not to play in films that stereotype Middle Easterners, including Iranians." In the same year, she also portrayed Sajida Talfah in the HBO original miniseries House of Saddam for which she received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. 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 Baháʼís in Iran. Aghdashloo's talk in particular was posted to YouTube. On October 9, 2010, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans awarded Aghdashloo their Career Achievement Award during its first annual gala. Aghdashloo continues to act in films, such as The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Septembers of Shiraz and Star Trek Beyond; and on television, guest starring on series such as House, M.D., The Simpsons, Grimm, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and NCIS. She also voiced characters for the video games Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, Destiny, Destiny 2, and Assassin's Creed Mirage; starred in the London revival of the play The House of Bernarda Alba at the Almeida Theatre as Bernarda Alba; and narrated the audiobook And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini. From 2015 to 2022, Aghdashloo starred in Amazon Prime Video's television series The Expanse as UN Deputy Undersecretary of Executive Administration Chrisjen Avasarala, a "smart and passionate member of a political family legacy who has risen high in the ranks of Earth's governing body without once standing for election". In 2025, she portrayed Elaida a'Roihan in season three of the Amazon series The Wheel of Time.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1990 — Matlock — Saleslady — Episode: "Nowhere to Turn" • 1993 — Martin — Malika — Episode: "Jerome's in the House" • 1994 — The Bold & The Beautiful — Greesa Abineer — Episode #1865 • 2001 — Zereshk — 2 episodes • 2004 — Lila Ravan — Television film • 2005 — 24 — Dina Araz — 12 episodes: Day 4 Gold Derby TV Award for Best Drama Supporting Actress Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film • 2006 — Smith — Charlie — 7 episodes • Will & Grace — Pam — Episode: "Cowboys and Iranians" • Curious George — Hat Salesperson — Voice role, episode: "The Clean, Perfect Yellow Hat" • ER — Mrs. Riza Kardatay — Episode: "Lost in America" • 2007 — Grey's Anatomy — Dr. Helen Crawford — Episode: "Scars and Souvenirs" • 2008 — House of Saddam — Sajida Talfah — 4 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Nominated—Gold Derby TV Award for Best Miniseries/TV Movie Supporting Actress • Mina — Voice role, episode: "MyPods and Boomsticks" • 2009 — FlashForward — Nhadra Udaya — 3 episodes • 2011 — Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Detective Saliyah "Sunny" Qadri — Episode: "Dirty" • House — Afsoun Hamidi — Episode: "Moving On" • NCIS — Mariam Bawali — Episode: "Safe Harbor" • 2012 — Portlandia — Nelofar Jamshidi — Episode: "Cool Wedding" • Dr. Lauren Baylor — 3 episodes • 2013 — Grimm — Stefania Vaduva Popescu — 7 episodes • 2014 — Believe — Mrs. Delkash — Episode: "Origin" • Bones — Azita Vaziri — Episode: "The Cold in the Case" • Scorpion — Dr. Cassandra Davis — Episode: "True Colors" • 2015 — Elementary — Donya Esfandiari — Episode: "Tag, You're Me" • 2015–2022 — Chrisjen Avasarala — Main role 6 seasons • 2016 — Pearl — Arlene — TV film • 2017 — Farah Madani — 4 episodes • 2019 — Queen Janna — Voice role, 4 episodes • Impulse — Fatima — 3 episodes • 2021 — Arcane — Enforcer Grayson — Voice role, 4 episodes • The Expanse: One Ship — Chrisjen Avasarala — Webisodes; 1 episode • 2022 — The Flight Attendant — Brenda — 5 episodes • Archer — ClandestiCon Host — Voice role, episode: "The Big Con" • 2023 — Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight — Forouzan — Voice role, 13 episodes • Mrs. Davis — Virgin Mary — Episode: "Great Gatsby 2001: A Space Odyssey" • 2024 — Chad — Zahra — Episode: "Maman Bozorg" • WondLa — Darius — Voice role, episode: "Chapter 4: Ghosts" • The Penguin — Nadia Maroni — Miniseries; 4 episodes • 2025 — The Wheel of Time — Elaida a'Roihan — Season 3 • Creature Commandos — Madam Gyurov — Voice role, episode 6 "Priyatel Skelet"

• Year — Game — Voice role — Notes • 2010 — Mass Effect 2 — Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay • 2012 — Mass Effect 3 • 2014 — Destiny — Lakshmi-2/Maya Sundaresh • 2017-2024 — Destiny 2 • 2022 — The Tale of Bistun — Narrator • Assassin's Creed Valhalla — Roshan bint-La'Ahad — "Shared History" DLC • 2023 — Assassin's Creed Mirage • The Expanse: A Telltale Series — Chrisjen Avasarala • 2024 — Ara: History Untold — Narrator

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2004 — Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia — Narrator — Audiobook • 2007 — The Blood of Flowers — Narrator — Audiobook • 2008 — The Bible of Clay — Narrator — Audiobook • And the Mountains Echoed — Narrator — Audiobook • 2016 — Until We Are Free: My Fight for Human Rights in Iran — Narrator — Audiobook • 2019–2020 — The Two Princes — Queen Attosa — Audio drama

• Year — Title — Role — Playwright • 1973 — A Narrow Road to the Deep North — Empress Jun — Edward Bond • 1975 — Madame de Sade — Reneé Marquise de Sade — Yukio Mishima • 2012 — The House of Bernarda Alba — Bernarda Alba — Federico Garcia Lorca • 2024 — What Became of Us — Q — Shayan Lotfi

In 1987, Aghdashloo married actor/playwright Houshang Touzie. They have a daughter, Tara Touzie, born in 1989.

Shohreh Aghdashloo is recorded as having received Emmy Award and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Recorded at birth as Shohreh Vaziri-Tabar. Identity and origins. Her recorded languages were English and Persian. Her recorded confession was Islam. She married Aydin Aghdashloo and Houshang Touzie.