# List of British Iranians

This is a list of notable British Iranians.

## Academics

* Haleh Afshar OBE – university professor at the University of York
* Kameel Ahmady – independent multi-award-winning social anthropologist who researches and publishes on female genital mutilation, child marriage and other aspects of children's and women's rights in the Middle East
* Ali M. Ansari – university professor at the University of St Andrews
* Reza Banakar – professor of socio-legal studies at the University of Westminster, London
* Ana Diamond – scholar at Balliol College, Oxford
* Abbas Edalat – university professor at Imperial College London
* Anoush Ehteshami – university professor at Durham University
* Eprime Eshag – Keynesian socialist economist
* Rouben Galichian – independent scholar
* Mohammed Ghanbari – university professor at the University of Essex
* Marjan Jahangiri – professor of cardiac surgery at St George’s Hospital, University of London. First woman appointed professor of cardiac surgery in the United Kingdom and in Europe.
* Homa Katouzian – academic, economist, historian and literary critic
* Ali Mobasheri – associate professor and reader at the University of Nottingham
* Mohammad Hashem Pesaran – academic, economist, professor of economics at Cambridge University, fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
* Reza Shah-Kazemi – Islamic researcher at the Institute of Ismaili Studies with the Department of Academic Research and Publications
* Saeed Vaseghi – university professor at Brunel University
* Taha Yasseri – university professor at University of Oxford

## Actors and comedians

* Freema Agyeman – actress
* Zahra Ahmadi – actress
* Nathalie Armin – actress
* Moe Bar-El – actor
* Catherine Bell – actress
* Nazanin Boniadi – actress; played Leyla Mir on General Hospital and CIA analyst Fara Sherazi on Homeland season 3
* Bijan Daneshmand – Iranian actor based in London
* Omid Djalili – comedian and actor
* Leila Farzad – actress
* Arty Froushan – actor
* Davood Ghadami – British Iranian actor, known for EastEnders character Kush Kazemi
* Shaheen Jafargholi – Welsh Iranian singer and actor; appeared on Britain's Got Talent
* Mandana Jones – actress
* Hadi Khorsandi – comedian
* Shappi Khorsandi – comedian
* Juliette Motamed – actress and musician
* Arian Nik – actor and writer
* Kayvan Novak – actor; star of Fonejacker
* Roxanne Pallett – actress
* Roxy Shahidi – actress
* Darren Shahlavi – British actor, martial arts stuntman
* Hayley Tamaddon – actress

## Art and architecture

* Nasser Golzari – principal at Golzari (NG) Architects
* Mouzhan Majidi – chief executive officer of Foster and Partners
* Mohsen Mostafavi – dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design
* Farshid Moussavi – architect and founder of Foreign Office Architects
* Afshin Naghouni – artist
* Kour Pour – painter, printmaker
* Houmayoun Mahmoudi – artist, International cartoonist
* Alireza Sagharchi – principal at Stanhope Gate Architecture
* Soheila Sokhanvari – Iranian-born multidisciplinary visual artist and painter

## Business

* Kaveh Alamouti – head of Global Macro Citadel LLC; chief executive officer of Citadel Asset Management Europe
* David Alliance, Baron Alliance, GBE – chairman of N Brown Group
* Farad Azima – industrialist, inventor and philanthropist
* Camila Batmanghelidjh – founder of failed charity Kids Company
* Darius Guppy – convicted fraudster, writer
* Bobby Hashemi – co-founder of Coffee Republic
* Sahar Hashemi – co-founder of Coffee Republic
* Kia Joorabchian – football businessman
* Nasser David Khalili, KSS – art dealer and the fifth-wealthiest person in the United Kingdom
* Mahmoud Khayami, KSS – industrialist; founder of Iran Khodro
* James Aratoon Malcolm – Iranian-Armenian financier, arms dealer and journalist
* Paris Moayedi – former chief executive officer of Jarvis plc
* Farhad Moshiri – energy investor; part owner of Everton F.C.
* Ali Parsa – former chief executive officer of private healthcare partnership Circle
* Eddy Shah – owner of the Messenger Group
* Yasmina Siadatan – winner of fifth series of The Apprentice
* Amir Taaki – computer programmer and bitcoin developer
* Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz – brothers who own the Rotch property group
* Sir Hossein Yassaie Phd – Chief Executive Office of semiconductor company Imagination Technologies
* Dan Vahdat – co-founder and CTO of Medopad

## Entertainment

* Soraya Mafi – opera singer
* Cameron Alborzian – former model
* Cyrus Bayandor – bass guitarist (Florence + the Machine)
* Darius Campbell (formerly Danesh) – actor and singer-songwriter
* Emun Elliott – actor
* Hichkas – rapper, singer-songwriter
* Shirin Guild – fashion designer
* Shusha Guppy – writer and singer
* Shaheen Jafargholi – singer; Britain's Got Talent series 3 contestant
* Yasmin Le Bon – model
* Patrick Monahan – stand-up comedian
* Kayvan Novak – actor; appeared as Waj in the film Four Lions (2010)
* Omid 16B – disc jockey
* Roxanne Tataei – soul singer-songwriter
* Eddy Temple-Morris – XFM disc jockey
* Kavus Torabi – musician
* Yasmin – musician, full name Yasmin Shahmir
* Sami Yusuf – musician
* Zarif – musician

## Media

* Hossein Amini – screenwriter and film director
* Behrouz Afagh – head of BBC World Service's Asia Pacific Region
* Christiane Amanpour, CBE – journalist
* Nazenin Ansari – journalist, former correspondent for Voice of America's Persian News Network
* Saeed Kamali Dehghan – staff journalist at The Guardian
* Fardad Farahzad – Journalist and TV host Iran International, former BBC Persian
* Nazaneen Ghaffar – weather presenter at Sky News
* Tina Gharavi – filmmaker and screenwriter
* Kaveh Golestan – photojournalist
* Baqer Moin – BBC News journalist
* Maryam Moshiri – BBC News presenter
* Ramita Navai – journalist
* Nima Nourizadeh – film director
* Sadeq Saba – journalist, head of BBC Persian service
* Sahar Zand – television and radio presenter, broadcast journalist and documentary maker

## Politics

* Maryam Eslamdoust, General Secretary of the TSSA
* Seema Kennedy – former Conservative MP
* Ali Milani – Labour Party politician
* Maryam Namazie – human-rights activist, commentator and broadcaster

## Sports

* Adam Gemili – sprinter and footballer
* Aadel Kardooni – former Leicester Tigers and England A rugby player
* Nad Narimani – mixed martial artist in the UFC
* Josh Navidi – Cardiff Blues and Welsh international rugby player
* Kamran Panjavi – weightlifter at the 2004 Summer Olympics
* Laurence Shahlaei – strongman
* Kamal Shalorus – professional UFC fighter
* Ryan Tafazolli – footballer
* Mehrdad Takaloo – boxer
* Dennis Walker – footballer of Afro-Iranian descent, first black player to play for Manchester United

## Other

* Yasha Asley – youngest person in the world to have achieved grade A at Mathematics A-level
* Ali Dizaei – senior police officer
* Shirazeh Houshiary – Turner Prize-nominated installation artist and sculptor
* Mansour Matloubi – poker player
* Behnaz Mozakka – terrorism victim
* Ben Roberts – poker player