# Shohreh Aghdashloo

Shohreh Aghdashloo (Persian: شهره آغداشلو, pronounced) is an Iranian and American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Satellite Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award.
Following numerous starring roles on the stage, she made her film debut in Chess of the Wind (1976). 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 voices Roshan in Assassin's Creed Mirage.

## Early life

Aghdashloo earned a bachelor's degree in international relations at Brunel University 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 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.

## Career

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. Agdashloo 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 will portray Elaida a'Roihan in season three of the Amazon series The Wheel of Time.

## Works
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1976 | The Chess Game of the Wind | Lady’s Maid | First film role in Iran, directed by Mohammed Reza Aslani |
| 1977 | The Report | Azam Firuzkui | |
| 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 | 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 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (3rd place) 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 Actress Nominated–Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2005 | The Exorcism of Emily Rose | Dr. Sadira Adani | |
| 2005 | Babak and Friends – A First Norooz | Farah | Animated film |
| 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 | Professor Nasrin Mehani | |
| 2008 | The Stoning of Soraya M. | Zahra Khanum | Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture |
| 2010 | The Adjustment Bureau | The Chairman | Scenes deleted |
| 2010 | The No Game | Aunt Laila | |
| 2011 | Iranium | Narrator | Documentary film by Alex Traiman |
| 2011 | On the Inside | Dr. Lofton | |
| 2012 | The Odd Life of Timothy Green | Evette Onat | |
| 2013 | Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters | The Oracle | Voice |
| 2013 | Silk | Rani | Short film by Catherine Dent |
| 2014 | Rosewater | Moloojoon | |
| 2014 | Still Here | Farzaneh | Short film by Ethan Rains |
| 2015 | Last Knights | Maria | |
| 2015 | Septembers of Shiraz | Habibeh | |
| 2016 | Star Trek Beyond | Commodore Paris | |
| 2016 | Window Horses | Mehrnaz | Animated film |
| 2016 | The Promise | Marta Boghosian | |
| 2018 | A Simple Wedding | Ziba Husseini | Also executive producer |
| 2019 | The Cuban | Bano Ayoub | Film directed by Sergio Navarretta |
| 2020 | Run Sweetheart Run | “First Lady” Dinah | |
| 2021 | Ghostbusters: Afterlife | Gozer the Gozerian | Voice role; role shared with Olivia Wilde and Emma Portner |
| 2023 | Renfield | Bellafrancesca Lobo | |
| 2024 | Damsel | Dragon (voice) | |
| 2024 | Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps | The Wise Woman | |
| TBA | The Alchemist | | Post-production |

### Television

| 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 | The Honduran Suburbs | Zereshk | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | The Secret Service | 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 |
| 2006 | Will & Grace | Pam | Episode: "Cowboys and Iranians" |
| 2006 | Curious George | Hat Salesperson | Episode: "The Clean, Perfect Yellow Hat" |
| 2006 | 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 |
| 2008 | The Simpsons | Mina | Voice, episode: "MyPods and Boomsticks" |
| 2009 | FlashForward | Nhadra Udaya | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Detective Saliyah "Sunny" Qadri | Episode: "Dirty" |
| 2011 | House | Afsoun Hamidi | Episode: "Moving On" |
| 2011 | NCIS | Mariam Bawali | Episode: "Safe Harbor" |
| 2012 | Portlandia | Nelofar Jamshidi | Episode: "Cool Wedding" |
| 2012 | The Mob Doctor | Dr. Lauren Baylor | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Grimm | Stefania Vaduva Popescu | 7 episodes |
| 2014 | Believe | Mrs. Delkash | Episode: "Origin" |
| 2014 | Bones | Azita Vaziri | Episode: "The Cold in the Case" |
| 2014 | Scorpion | Dr. Cassandra Davis | Episode: "True Colors" |
| 2015 | Elementary | Donya Esfandiari | Episode: "Tag, You're Me" |
| 2015–2022 | The Expanse | Chrisjen Avasarala | Main role 6 seasons |
| 2016 | Pearl | Arlene | TV film |
| 2017 | The Punisher | Farah Madani | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | The Lion Guard | Queen Janna | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2019 | Impulse | Fatima | 3 episodes |
| 2021 | Arcane | Enforcer Grayson | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2021 | The Expanse: One Ship | Chrisjen Avasarala | Webisodes; 1 episode |
| 2022 | The Flight Attendant | Brenda | 5 episodes |
| 2022 | Archer | ClandestiCon Host | Voice, episode: "The Big Con" |
| 2023 | Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight | Forouzan | Voice, 13 episodes |
| 2023 | Mrs. Davis | Virgin Mary | Episode: "Great Gatsby 2001: A Space Odyssey" |
| 2024 | Chad | Zahra | Episode: "Maman Bozorg" |
| 2024 | WondLa | Darius | Voice, episode: "Chapter 4: Ghosts" |
| 2024 | The Penguin | Nadia Maroni | Miniseries |
| 2025 | The Wheel of Time | Elaida a'Roihan | Season 3 |
| 2025 | Creature Commandos | Madam Gyurov | Voice role, episode 6 "Priyatel Skelet" |

### Video games

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

### Audio

| 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 |
| 2008 | 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 |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 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 |

## Other awards

* 2007: Arpa Career Achievement Award
* 2013: Noor Iranian Film Festival Achievement Award

## Personal life

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