Famous Iranian Film & Theater Personalities

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 1 
Golshifteh Farahani
(Iranian Actress)
Golshifteh Farahani
4
Birthdate: July 10, 1983
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran

Golshifteh Farahani is an Iranian actress renowned for her achievements on the international stage. She is one of the few Iranian actresses to have worked in Hollywood films and many of her films have received international recognition. Farahani has also been advocating for the eradication of tuberculosis in her home country and often gets involved in environmental causes as well.

 2 
Shohreh Aghdashloo
(Numerous starring roles on the stage)
Shohreh Aghdashloo
3
Birthdate: May 11, 1952
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
 3 
Christiane Amanpour
(Journalist, Television Host and Chief International Anchor for CNN)
Christiane Amanpour
3
Birthdate: January 12, 1958
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: London, England
British-Iranian journalist Christiane Amanpour is best known as the anchor of the CNN interview show Amanpour. She has also hosted PBS’s Amanpour & Company. She was criticized for her biased and pro-Muslim coverage of the Bosnian War. She has also been a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Freedom of Expression.
 4 
The Iron Sheik
(Professional Wrestler Best Known for His Crippling Camel Clutch Maneuver)
The Iron Sheik
3
Birthdate: March 15, 1942
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Damghan, Iran

Legendary Iranian wrestler Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, better known as The Iron Sheik, scripted history by becoming the only Iranian with a WWE championship win. Known for his signature suplex and Camel Clutch tactics, he later also forayed into showbiz, acting in movies such as Operation Belvis Bash.

 5 
Reza Aslan
(Scholar, Author Famous for His Translated Works ‘No God but God: The Origins’, ‘Evolution’, and ‘Future of Islam')
Reza Aslan
3
Birthdate: May 3, 1972
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran

Reza Aslan is an Iranian-American writer, TV host, and scholar of sociology of religion. A multi-talented personality, Aslan also serves as a professor at the University of California, Riverside. Over the course of his career, Reza Aslan has been honored with several prestigious awards including the East-West Media Award in 2012 and the Media Bridge-Builder Award in 2013.

 6 
Navid Negahban
(Actor)
Navid Negahban
3
Birthdate: June 2, 1968
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Iran
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
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 7 
Ramin Karimloo
(Actor)
Ramin Karimloo
4
Birthdate: September 19, 1978
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
 8 
Abbas Kiarostami
(Iranian Director, Producer, Screenwriter and Photographer)
Abbas Kiarostami
2
Birthdate: June 22, 1940
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Died: July 4, 2016

Abbas Kiarostami was an Iranian screenwriter, film director, film producer, photographer, and poet. Over the course of his illustrious career, Kiarostami was honored with numerous awards such as the Jury Special Award at the Tehran International Film Festival and Best Film Award at the Iranian Film Festival for Children and Young Adults. 

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 9 
Asghar Farhadi
(Iranian Film Director and Screenwriter)
Asghar Farhadi
2
Birthdate: May 7, 1972
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Khomeyni Shahr, Iran

Asghar Farhadi is an Iranian screenwriter and film director. In 2016, Farhadi became one of the few directors to receive two Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film. While his film The Salesman earned him an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2016, he had previously won an Oscar for his 2011 film A Separation.

 10 
Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari
(Former Actress, Second wife of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi)
Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari
2
Birthdate: June 22, 1932
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Esfahan, Iran
Died: October 26, 2001
 11 
Maz Jobrani
(Comedians)
Maz Jobrani
2
Birthdate: February 26, 1972
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
 12 
Googoosh
(Singer)
Googoosh
2
Birthdate: May 5, 1950
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Tehrān, Iran
Height: 5'1" (155 cm)
 13 
Mandana Karimi
(Actress, Model)
Mandana Karimi
5
Birthdate: May 19, 1988
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
 14 
Aylar Lie
(Actress)
Aylar Lie
2
Birthdate: February 12, 1984
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Height: 5'2" (157 cm)
 15 
Desiree Akhavan
(Director)
Desiree Akhavan
2
Birthdate: 1984 AD
Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA
 16 
Negar Khan
(Actress)
Negar Khan
2
Birthdate: 1984 AD
Birthplace: Tabriz, Iran
 17 
Majid Majidi
(Iranian Filmmaker and Producer)
Majid Majidi
2
Birthdate: April 17, 1959
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
 18 
Dominic Rains
(Actor)
Dominic Rains
0
Birthdate: March 1, 1982
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
 19 
Ashraf Pahlavi
(Iranian Writer, Diplomat and Politician)
Ashraf Pahlavi
2
Birthdate: October 26, 1919
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Died: January 7, 2016
 20 
Marshall Manesh
(actor, television actor, film actor)
Marshall Manesh
2
Birthdate: August 16, 1950
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Mashhad
 21 
Hossein Amini
(British Screenwriter and Director)
Hossein Amini
2
Birthdate: January 18, 1966
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
 22 
Narges Rashidi
(Actress)
Narges Rashidi
2
Birthdate: March 21, 1980
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Khorramabad, Iran
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
 23 
Jafar Panahi
(Film director, Film producer, Film editor, Screenwriter)
Jafar Panahi
2
Birthdate: July 11, 1960
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Mianeh
 24 
Shahab Hosseini
(Iranian Actor, Director, and Producer)
Shahab Hosseini
2
Birthdate: February 3, 1974
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran

Shahab Hosseini is an Iranian actor, director, and producer. A critically acclaimed actor, Hosseini has received Best Actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and Fajr Film Festival. Shahab Hosseini is also renowned for his association with the Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi.

 25 
Fereshteh Hosseini
(Actress)
Fereshteh Hosseini
2
Birthdate: April 26, 1997
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
 26 
Lina Leandersson
(Actress)
Lina Leandersson
1
Birthdate: September 27, 1995
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Falun, Sweden
Height: 5'3" (160 cm)
 27 
Shaghayegh Farahani
(Iranian Actress)
Shaghayegh Farahani
1
Birthdate: July 24, 1972
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Height: 5'3" (160 cm)
 28 
Behrouz Vossoughi
(Actor who has appeared in more than ninety films)
Behrouz Vossoughi
1
Birthdate: March 11, 1938
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Khoy, Iran
 29 
Mostafa Zamani
(Actor)
Mostafa Zamani
2
Birthdate: June 20, 1982
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Amlash, Iran
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
 30 
Melika Foroutan
(Actress, known for Mediterráneo (2021), Tribes of Europa (2021) and Pari (2020))
Melika Foroutan
0
Birthdate: 1976 AD
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
 31 
Fereydoun Farrokhzad
(Known for his variety TV show 'Mikhak-e Noghrei' (The Silver Carnation) which introduced many artists)
Fereydoun Farrokhzad
0
Birthdate: October 7, 1936
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Died: August 4, 1992
 32 
Zahra Amir Ebrahimi
(Iranian-French Actress, Producer and Director)
Zahra Amir Ebrahimi
1
Birthdate: July 9, 1981
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
 33 
Mohammad Reza Golzar
(Iranian Actor)
Mohammad Reza Golzar
1
Birthdate: March 21, 1977
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
 34 
Iran Eory
(Actress)
Iran Eory
1
Birthdate: October 21, 1937
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Died: March 10, 2002
 35 
Maryam Zakaria
(Known for her work in Bollywood films such as Agent Vinod, and the adult comedy Grand Masti.)
Maryam Zakaria
2
Birthdate: September 27, 1984
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
 36 
Niki Karimi
(Iranian Actress and Filmmaker)
Niki Karimi
1
Birthdate: November 10, 1971
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
 37 
Enissa Amani
(Iranian-German Comedian, Activist, and Artist)
Enissa Amani
1
Birthdate: December 8, 1983
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Height: 5'3" (160 cm)
 38 
Jasmin Tabatabai
(Actress)
Jasmin Tabatabai
1
Birthdate: June 8, 1967
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
 39 
Mohammad Ali Fardin
(Iranian Actor, Film Director and Freestyle Wrestler)
Mohammad Ali Fardin
1
Birthdate: February 4, 1931
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Died: April 6, 2000

Initially a World Wrestling Championship silver medal-winning wrestler, Mohammad Ali Fardin later ventured into filmmaking and acting. The popular Iranian actor was later nicknamed King of Hearts, after one of his movies. Unfortunately, in the post-revolutionary period, he faced a life-time ban from acting in his country.

 40 
Bahman Ghobadi
(Iranian Kurdish Film Director, Producer and Writer)
Bahman Ghobadi
1
Birthdate: February 1, 1969
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Baneh, Iran
 41 
Nina Zanjani
(Actress)
Nina Zanjani
1
Birthdate: September 1, 1981
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
 42 
Ali Hatami
(Film director)
Ali Hatami
1
Birthdate: August 19, 1944
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Died: December 7, 1996
 43 
Susan Taslimi
(Actress)
Susan Taslimi
1
Birthdate: February 7, 1950
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Rasht, Iran
 44 
Kheiron
(French Actor, Film Director, and Comedian)
Kheiron
1
Birthdate: November 21, 1982
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
 45 
Rosie Malek-Yonan
(Assyrian-American Actress, Author, Director and Musician)
Rosie Malek-Yonan
1
Birthdate: July 4, 1965
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
 46 
Kambuzia Partovi
(Film director)
Kambuzia Partovi
0
Birthdate: November 11, 1955
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Rasht, Iran
Died: November 24, 2020
 47 
Tooji
(Singer, Model and Television host)
Tooji
0
Birthdate: May 26, 1987
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Shiraz, Iran
 48 
Khosrow Sinai
(Director)
Khosrow Sinai
0
Birthdate: January 19, 1941
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Sari, Iran
Died: August 1, 2020

Khosrow Sinai was an Iranian poet, composer, film director, screenwriter, and scholar. The first Iranian filmmaker to receive an international prize after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Khosrow Sinai is best remembered for his celebrated film Bride of Fire, which won numerous awards in both international and domestic film festivals.

 49 
Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam
(Dancer)
Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam
1
Birthdate: April 21, 1967
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Khorramshahr, Iran

Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam is an Iranian dancer, choreographer, director, and actor. Shahrokh, who works in Paris, is credited with founding the Nakissa Art Company where he formerly served as the artistic director. Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam is the first Iranian to be associated with the popular Comédie-Française troupe.

 50 
Alexis Kouros
(Writer, Documentary-maker, Director, and Producer.)
Alexis Kouros
0
Birthdate: 1961 AD
Birthplace: Kermanshah, Iran