After establishing a theatre and film career in Iran, Aghdashloo moved to England during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, 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. She has continued to play supporting and character roles in film and television, including a starring role as Chrisjen Avasarala on the Syfy original series The Expanse (2015–present), and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her work in the HBO original miniseries House of Saddam (2008). In 2013, she released her autobiography, titled The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines. \n', '

Aghdashloo was born in Tehran, Iran, as Shohreh Vaziri-Tabar, the daughter of Effie (née al-Sadat) and Anushiravan Vaziri-Tabar. She has three brothers: Shahram, Shahriar and Shahrokh. Her stage name is from the family name of her first husband, painter Aydin Aghdashloo. After their marriage in 1972 when she was 19 and he was 31, she began attending theatre workshops, against the wishes of her family. She had always wanted to be an actress, and soon began playing leading roles in Iranian theatre and film. They did not have children and were divorced in 1979, when she left Iran for England at the start of the Iranian Revolution.\n', '

Once she arrived in England, she 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 took her to London as a child. She then continued to pursue her acting career, which brought her to Los Angeles. In 1987, Aghdashloo married actor/playwright Houshang Touzie. They have a daughter, Tara Touzie, born in 1989. 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 never practised the religion.\n', '

Return to Shohreh Aghdashloo Autograph Profile