The following notable people were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the city of Tehran, Iran. Tehran natives are also referred to as Tehranis.
Born in Tehran
Prior to the 19th century Mirza Ghiyas Beg (–1621), nobleman and Grand vizier of the Mughal Empire 1801–1900 Baháʼu'lláh (1817–1892), founder of the Bahá'í faith Subh-i-Azal (1831–1912), Persian religious leader of Azali Bábism Abdol-samad Mirza Ezz ed-Dowleh (1843–1929), prince and governor `Abdu'l-Bahá (1844–1921), former head of the Bahá'í faith Antoin Sevruguin (1851–1933), photographer Morteza Gholi Khan Hedayat (1856–1911), politician and first chairman of the Iranian parliament Mirza Ali Asghar Khan Amin al-Soltan (1858–1907), Prime Minister of Iran Mehdi Qoli Hedayat (1863–1955), Prime Minister of Iran Vosugh od-Dowleh (1868–1951), Prime Minister of Qajar era Iran Mohammad Ali Foroughi (1877–1942), Three-time Prime Minister of Iran Hossein Ala' (1881–1964), Prime Minister of Iran in 1951 and from 1955 to 1957 Abol-Ghasem Kashani (1882–1962), Twelver Shia Muslim cleric and Chairman of the Parliament of Iran Mohammad Mosaddegh (1882–1967), Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953 Ali Akbar Bahman (1883–1967), diplomat and politician Ali Mansur (1886–1974), Prime Minister of Iran Harold Nicolson (1886–1968), English diplomat, author, diarist and politician Sulayman Hayyim (1887–1970), lexicographer, translator, playwright and essayist Firouz Nosrat-ed-Dowleh III (1889–1937), prince and statesman Abolqasem Najm (1892–1983), diplomat and politician Hossein Joudat (1892–1990), cultural, political, media and literary figure André Sevruguin (1896–1996), miniature painter Ahmad Matin-Daftari (1897–1971), Prime Minister of Iran Nasrollah Entezam (1900–1980), diplomat Mohammad Hejazi (1900–1974), novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist, translator
1901–1930 Ali Razmara (1901–1951), military leader and prime minister of Iran Sadegh Hedayat (1903–1951), writer, translator and intellectual Bozorg Alavi (1904–1997), writer, novelist, and political intellectual Turan Amirsoleimani (1905–1994), aristocrat and third wife of Reza Shah Ali Amini (1905–1992), politician and writer, Prime Minister of Iran from 1961 to 1962 Mohsen Foroughi (1907–1983), architect Mehdi Bazargan (1907–1995), politician and activist, Prime Minister of the Interim Government of Iran in 1979 Rahi Mo'ayyeri (1909–1968), poet and musician Abbas Ali Khalatbari (1912–1979), diplomat Davud Monshizadeh (1915–1989), Nazi, founder of Sumka (the "Iranian National Socialist Workers Party") Shamsi Hekmat (1917–1997), Iranian-American educator, philanthropist, pioneered reforms in women's status in Iran Shams Pahlavi (1917–1996), the elder sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran Amir-Abbas Hoveyda (1919–1979), economist and politician Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980), Shah of Iran from 1941 until his overthrow by the 1979 Iranian Revolution Amir Khosrow Afshar (1919–1999), diplomat Nasser Moghaddam (1921–1979), the fourth and last chief of SAVAK Alenush Terian (1921–2011), astronomer and physicist, first female professor of physics in Iran Heydar Ghiai (1922–1985), architect Hassan Ali Mansur (1923–1965), politician, Prime Minister from 1963 to 1965 Gholam Reza Pahlavi (1923–2017), prince, president of the National Olympic Committee Jalal Al-e-Ahmad (1923–1969), writer, thinker and social and political critic Abdul Reza Pahlavi (1924–2004), prince Abdollah Mojtabavi (1925–2012), freestyle wrestling athlete Ahmad Reza Pahlavi (1925–1981), prince Sadegh Nezam-mafi (1925–2009), physician and medical pioneer Ali Javan (1926–2016), Iranian-American physicist and inventor at MIT Simin Behbahani (1927–2014), poet, lyricist and activist Ray Aghayan (1928–2011), costume designer Fatemeh Pahlavi (1928–1987), princess Masoud Boroumand (1928–2011), footballer Ardeshir Zahedi (1928–2021), diplomat Lotfi Mansouri (1929–2013), opera director and manager Ali Mirzaei (1929–2020), weightlifter Mahmoud Mollaghasemi (born 1929), freestyle wrestler Izak Parviz Nazarian (1929 –2017), Tehran -born American businessman, investor, real-estate developer, and philanthropist Ezzatollah Sahabi (1930–2011), scholar, humanitarian, democracy activist, politician and former Parliament member Gholamreza Takhti (1930–1968), Olympic gold medalist wrestler
1931–1950 Mohammad Ali Fardin (1931–2000), wrestler and actor Younes Nazarian (1931 – 2022), Iranian-American businessman, investor, and philanthropist Mostafa Chamran (1932–1981), physicist, politician and commander Nasser Givehchi (1932–2017), wrestler Seyyed Hossein Nasr (born 1933), Iranian-American University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University and Islamic philosopher Forough Farrokhzad (1935–1967), poet and film director Iraj Ghaderi (1935–2012), film director and actor Bahman Nirumand (born 1936), Iranian and German journalist and author Kamran Diba (born 1937), architect Irán Eory (1937–2002), actress; moved to Mexico Majid Samii (born 1937), neurosurgeon and medical scientist Hossein Zenderoudi (born 1937), painter and sculptor Bahram Beyzai (1938–2025), film director and playwright Keyvan Khosrovani (born 1938), architect, lighting designer, fashion designer and couturier Farah Pahlavi (born 1938), Queen and Empress of Iran from 1959 until the 1979 Iranian Revolution Parviz Jalayer (1939–2019), weightlifter and Olympic silver medalist Dariush Mehrjui (1939–2023), director, screenwriter, producer, film editor Kamran Shirdel (born 1939), documentarist Bijan (1940–2011), designer of menswear and fragrances Homa Darabi (1940–1994), Iranian-American political activist against forced hijab, affiliated with the secular Nation Party of Iran; professor of child psychiatry, physician; set herself on fire in Tehran's Tajrish Square to protest Iran's restrictions of women's rights Henry Elghanayan (born 1940), Tehran-born American real estate developer Abbas Kiarostami (1940–2016), film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer Shahnaz Pahlavi (born 1940), Princess of Iran Moussa B. H. Youdim (born 1940), Tehran-born Israeli neuroscientist specializing in neurochemistry and neuropharmacology. Parvin Darabi (born 1941), Iranian–American author and women's rights activist; speaks out against Iran's regime and Islam Kamran Hakim (born 1941), Tehran-born American real estate businessman Barbet Schroeder (born 1941), Iranian-born Swiss film director and producer Rafael Minaskanian (born 1941), musician and pianist Hayedeh (1942–1990; also known as Ma'soumeh Dadehbala), pop and classical singer; lived in Los Angeles Khosrow Vaziri (1942–2023), professional wrestler and actor Homa Katouzian (born 1942), economist, historian, sociologist and literary critic Ali Hatami (1944–1996), film director, screenwriter, art director and costume designer Kamal Kharazi (1944–2026), politician and diplomat Younan Nowzaradan (born 1944), Iranian-born American surgeon and TV personality Sohrab Shahid-Saless (1944–1998), film director and screenwriter Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel (born 1945), philosopher and politician Mohammad Nassiri (born 1945), weightlifter and Olympic gold medalist Abdolkarim Soroush (born 1945), thinker and reformer Jamileh (born 1946), Iranian-American actress, cabaret performer, and dancer Mahasti (1946–2007), Persian classical, folk, and pop music singer; lived in California Ali Parvin (born 1946), football player and coach Shahrnush Parsipur (born 1946), novelist Mohammad Reza Adelkhani (born 1947), footballer Mansour Barzegar (born 1947), wrestler Jamal Ejlali (1947–2025), actor Shaul Mofaz (born 1948), Israeli politician and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Firouzeh Vokhshouri (born 1948), Princess Firouzeh Asem of Jordan Ebi (born 1949), singer Nasser Hejazi (1949–2011), football player and coach Farzaneh Kaboli (born 1949), a leader in Iranian folkloric and national dance art, actress Googoosh (born 1950), singer, songwriter, and actress of Iranian Azerbaijani origin; moved to Canada Hassan Mehmani (born 1950), actor and director
1951–1960 Andranik Eskandarian (born 1951), Iranian-American footballer Mansoor Hekmat (1951–2002), Marxist theorist and leader of the worker-communist movement Shohreh Aghdashloo (born Vaziri-Tabar, 1952), Iranian-American actress Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh (born 1952), France based Iranian religious scholar Parviz Davoodi (1952–2024), hardline conservative politician Valentine Moghadam (born 1952), Iranian-American feminist scholar, sociologist, activist and author, Professor of Sociology and International Affairs; Director of International Affairs Program and Director of Middle East Studies Program, Northeastern University Alexios Schandermani (born 1953), writer Maryam Rajavi (born 1953), President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran; leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, lives in France Daryush Shokof (born 1954), writer, film director, artist and film producer based in Germany Mary Apick (born 1954), Iranian-Armenian stage, television and film actress; moved to the United States Joseph Moinian (born 1954), Tehran-born American investor, real estate developer, and philanthropist Hadi Teherani (born 1954), German-Iranian architect and designer Neil Kadisha (born 1955), Tehran-born American businessman, investor, and philanthropist Darius Khondji (born 1955), Iranian-French cinematographer Azar Nafisi (born 1955), Iranian-American writer and professor of English literatureI at Tehran University and Johns Hopkins University Feizollah Nasseri (born 1955), weightlifter Goli Ameri (born 1956), Iranian-American diplomat and businesswoman Afsaneh Beschloss (born 1956), Iranian-born American former treasurer of the World Bank, economist, entrepreneur, and investor, CEO of RockCreek, an investment firm that she founded Ramin Jahanbegloo (born 1956), philosopher and academic Elaheh Koulaei (born 1956), Professor of political science, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Tehran University; politician Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar (born 1956), politician and army general Mohsen Makhmalbaf (born 1957), film director, writer, film editor and producer Abbas Maroufi (1957– 2022), novelist and journalist Andranik Madadian (born 1958), Armenian-Iranian singer-songwriter and actor Bita Farrahi (1958–2023), actress Fariba Adelkhah (born 1959), French-Iranian anthropologist and academic imprisoned in Iran from 2019 until 2023. Farzad Bonyadi (born 1959), professional poker player Efraim Davidi (born1959), Tehran-born Israeli professional footballer Majid Majidi (born 1959), film director, film producer and screenwriter Ahmad Bourghani (1960–2008), politician, journalist, writer and political analyst Masoumeh Ebtekar (born 1960), Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs. Former head of Iran's Department of Environment, recipient of the UN Champions of the Earth Environmental Award Vali Nasr (born 1960), American academic and author Reza Pahlavi (born 1960), crown prince of Persia Cumrun Vafa (born 1960), Iranian-American leading string theorist from Harvard University
1961–1970 David Nazarian (born 1961), Tehran-born American businessman, investor, and philanthropist Bob Yari (born 1961), American film producer and director Parastou Forouhar (born 1962), installation artist Rita (born 1962), Iranian-born Israeli actress and singer Hassan Bastani (born 1962), playwright Camila Batmanghelidjh (1963–2024), Iranian-born Belgian author and charity executive in the United Kingdom Amir Ghalenoei (born 1963), football coach and player Farahnaz Pahlavi (born 1963), the eldest daughter of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi