Yara Sayeh Shahidi Persian pronunciation: [jɒːɾɒː sɒːje ʃæhiːdiː]; born February 10, 2000) is an American actress, model and activist. She gained recognition 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). Her film credits include Imagine That (2009), Smallfoot (2018), and the lead role in The Sun Is Also a Star (2019).\n', 'Yara Sayeh Shahidi was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Keri Salter Shahidi and Afshin Shahidi, a photographer. Her father is Iranian American. Her mother is African American, of Yoruba and Fulani descent, and also has Choctaw heritage. The family moved to California for 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. Keri Shahidi states the name Yara means "Someone who is close to your heart", the name Sayeed means "Blessing", and Ehsan means "To act as though God is watching". The rapper Nas is their once-removed cousin.\n', 'She began her career when she was 6 years old, appearing in television and print advertisements for companies such as McDonald\'s, Ralph Lauren, Target, GapKids, Disney, Guess Kids and The Children\'s Place. She frequently worked with her mother and younger brother in various print and broadcast campaigns.\n', '

Return to Yara Shahidi Autograph Profile