S3E1 IFYS: SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO - Oscar Nominated, Primetime Emmy & Multi-Award Winning Actress, Human Rights Activist & Author of 'The Alley of Love & Yellow Jasmines'

SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO - Oscar Nominated, Primetime Emmy & Multi-Award Winning Actress, Human Rights Activist & Author of 'The Alley of Love & Yellow Jasmines'.  She's also a voice over artist for many video games and animations.

There's so much wisdom about living a happy life;  and this wonderfully witty wonder woman shares her truth in the most endearing way.  How her drive to succeed and values kept her hopes alive, especially during a bitterly cold night in England with only 50 pence left in her purse. Shohreh drove herself to England during the Iranian revolution and worked hard to earn her BA in International Relations.  Her boss during this time at a posh boutique, Mr. Bernstein, gave her some advice that carried her through the most turbulent times. Shohreh shares what happened when she won her Emmy and what it was like playing Sir Ben Kingsley wife in the film she was nominated for an Academy Award. She's lived in her home in California for over 18 years, and during the Covid lock down uncovered something in her home that no one had ever noticed before.  This opened up a part of herself too that she reveals during our talk.  To learn more about our Shohreh go to episode description of this podcast.

A special salute goes out to all the military branches for your incredible service to the Unites States.  Thank you for your deep commitment to protect & serve with your life.  Have a fun & safe Memorial Day weekend and thank you for listening.  God bless You.

In the 1970s at age 20, she achieved nationwide stardom in her homeland of Iran, starring in some prominent pictures such as The Report directed by the renowned Abbas Kiarostami, which won critics awards at the Moscow Film Festival. In 1978, she won wider acclaim and established herself as one of Iran's leading ladies with Desideriam directed by the late Ali Hatami.

She continued to pursue her acting career, which eventually brought her to Los Angeles, California in 1987. She went on to marry actor/playwright Houshang Touzie, performing in a number of his plays, successfully taking them to national and international stages. However, this was not easy getting work in Hollywood as a Middle Eastern actress with an accent;  but she finally received good reviews for her 12 episodes on the fourth season of the Fox television series 24 as Dina Araz, a terrorist undercover as a well-to-do housewife and mother in Los Angeles. She had to wait quite some time to receive her break in Hollywood.

After establishing a theatre and film career in Iran, Shohreh 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 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.