Yara Shahidi
Yara Sayeh Shahidi (born February 10, 2000) is an American actress, model, and activist.
She is known for her starring role as the oldest daughter Zoey Johnson on the sitcom Black-ish (2014-present) and its spin-off series Grown-ish (2018-present).
Early life and education
Yara Sayeh Shahidi was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Keri Salter and Afshin Shahidi. Her mother, Keri Salter, is of mixed African American and Native Choctaw heritage, and her father, Afshin, is Iranian. The family moved to California for her father Afshin's work when Yara was 4 years old. She is the older sister of child actor and model Sayeed Shahidi and they have a younger brother, Ehsan. Rapper Nas is their cousin. Keri Shahidi states the name Yara means in Persian "Someone who is close to your heart", the name Sayeed means "Blessing", and Ehsan means "To act as though God is watching".
Shahidi graduated in 2017 from Dwight Global Online School. Starting in 2018, Shahidi began college at Harvard University with a plan to major in Interdisciplinary Sociology and African American Studies.
References
2000 births
Living people
American movie actors
American television actors
American voice actors
American activists
Models from Minnesota
American child actors
Actors from Minneapolis
African American actors
Harvard University alumni