Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar
Mercedes Tavacoli Diba was born in Tehran, Iran in 1944 to an upper-class family. She was educated in England. She received a bachelor's degree in business from a Swiss university. Her father died when she was young. Her mother Sorure Tavacoli subsequently married Abolhassan Diba, Iran’s former Deputy Finance Minister. He was the son of Fazlollah Diba (an aide to Crown Prince Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar) and Princess Malektadj Firuz (great-granddaughter of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, second Qajar Shah of Persia). She is a step-cousin of Farah Pahlavi, former Empress of Iran. Her step-father was also the half-brother of former Iranian prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.