Shohreh Aghdashloo (; , ; born Vaziri-Tabar, May 11, 1952) is an Iranian-American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Satellite Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award.
Following numerous starring roles on the stage, she made her film debut in Chess of the Wind (1976). Her next two films The Report (1977) and Sooteh Delan (1977) garnered critical acclaim and established Aghdashloo as one of Iran's leading ladies, although the films were banned in Iran itself.
Aghdashloo moved to England during the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and then to the United States, 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. Her other film appearances include The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), X-Men: The Last Stand and The Nativity Story (both 2006), The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016).
In television, she is best known for her roles as Dina Araz in the fourth season of 24 and as Chrisjen Avasarala on The Expanse (2015–2022). For her role as Sajida Talfah in the HBO miniseries House of Saddam (2008), she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. In 2013, she released her autobiography titled The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines. In 2021, she voiced Grayson in Netflix's series Arcane. In 2024, Aghdashloo voiced the unnamed dragon in the 2024 Netflix film Damsel. She also voiced Admiral Raan in Mass Effect 2 & 3, and Roshan in 2023's Assassin's Creed Mirage.
Early life Aghdashloo earned a bachelor's degree in international relations at Brunel University of London because of her interest in politics after having to leave her home country. She was already familiar with England, as her parents had taken her to London as a child. She then continued to pursue her acting career, which brought her to Los Angeles. She has since performed in a number of her husband Houshang Touzie's plays, successfully taking them to national and international stages, primarily in the Iranian diaspora.source: House Of Sand And Fog DVD – Biographies Though born to a Muslim family, she has stated that she is non-practicing.
Career
Aghdashloo first began working as a theatre actress at the age of 19, when she starred in a theatrical adaptation of the novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North (1973). Aghdashloo made her American film debut in 1989 in a starring role in Guests of Hotel Astoria. Her television debut came on September 25, 1990, in a guest role in the two-hour episode of the NBC television series Matlock, titled "Nowhere to Turn: A Matlock Mystery Movie". In the years that followed Aghdashloo appeared on screen sporadically, including in the widely panned Surviving Paradise (2000), written and directed by Kamshad Kooshan.
In 2001 Aghdashloo was cast opposite Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly in director Vadim Perelman's House of Sand and Fog (2003) for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Following this exposure Aghdashloo had a prominent recurring role in Season 4 of the Fox television series 24, playing Dina Araz, a terrorist undercover in Los Angeles as a well-to-do housewife and mother. In an interview with Time magazine, Aghdashloo stated that although she had previously resisted reinforcing the stereotype of Muslims as terrorists, the strength and complexity of the role convinced her to accept it. In the period that followed, Aghdashloo made guest appearances on several well-known television series, such as Will & Grace, ER and Grey's Anatomy. She also played supporting roles in films such as X-Men: The Last Stand as Dr. Kavita Rao, The Lake House, The Nativity Story as Elizabeth, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.
In 2008, Aghdashloo served as an official festival judge at the second annual Noor Iranian Film Festival in Los Angeles, while she also played the lead character of Zahra Khanum in the film The Stoning of Soraya M., marking her first leading role in a feature-length American film. Film scholar Hamid Naficy criticized her role in the film as "discredit[ing] her vow not to play in films that stereotype Middle Easterners, including Iranians." In the same year, she also portrayed Sajida Talfah in the HBO original miniseries House of Saddam for which she received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. Speaking to a crowd of over 1,400 people at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium on September 12, 2009, Aghdashloo, author Dr. Azar Nafisi, and Dr. Dwight Bashir, Associate Director for Policy at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, added their voices to those concerned about human rights in Iran and the persecution of Baháʼís in Iran. Aghdashloo's talk in particular was posted to YouTube. On October 9, 2010, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans awarded Aghdashloo their Career Achievement Award during its first annual gala."Announcing the First PAAIA Annual Gala" , Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, October 9, 2010
Aghdashloo continues to act in films, such as The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Septembers of Shiraz and Star Trek Beyond; and on television, guest starring on series such as House, M.D., The Simpsons, Grimm, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and NCIS. She also voiced characters for the video games Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, Destiny, Destiny 2, and Assassin's Creed Mirage; starred in the London revival of the play The House of Bernarda Alba at the Almeida Theatre as Bernarda Alba; and narrated the audiobook And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini.
From 2015 to 2022, Aghdashloo starred in Amazon Prime Video's television series The Expanse as UN Deputy Undersecretary of Executive Administration Chrisjen Avasarala, a "smart and passionate member of a political family legacy who has risen high in the ranks of Earth's governing body without once standing for election". In 2025, she portrayed Elaida a'Roihan in season three of the Amazon series The Wheel of Time.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes1976 Chess of the Wind Kanizak First film role in Iran, directed by Mohammed Reza Aslani1977 The Report Azam Firuzkui1978 Sooteh-Delan Aghdas1989 Guests of Hotel Astoria Mrs. Pori Karemnia First American film role1991 Raha Raha1993 Twenty Bucks Ghada Holiday2000 Surviving Paradise Pari First English language Iranian-American feature film distributed theatrically in the United States, written and directed by Kamshad Kooshan2001 America So Beautiful Exiled Actress2002 Maryam Mrs. Homa Armin 2003 Possessed WomanShort film by Shirin Neshat Pulse Woman Mystic Iran Narrator Documentary film by Aryana Farshad House of Sand and Fog Nadereh 'Nadi' Behrani Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting FemaleLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (3rd place)New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting ActressOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated–Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated–Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress 2005 The Exorcism of Emily Rose Dr. Sadira Adani Babak and Friends – A First Norooz Farah Voice role 2006 American Dreamz Mrs. Nazneen Riza The Lake House Dr. Anna Klyczynski X-Men: The Last Stand Dr. Kavita Rao The Nativity Story Elizabeth 2008 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 Professor Nasrin Mehani The Stoning of Soraya M. Zahra Khanum Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture 2010 The Adjustment Bureau The Chairman Scenes deleted The No Game Aunt Laila 2011 Iranium Narrator Documentary film by Alex Traiman On the Inside Dr. Lofton 2012 The Odd Life of Timothy Green Evette Onat 2013 Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters The Oracle Voice role A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. Silk Rani Short film by Catherine Dent 2014 Rosewater Moloojoon Still Here Farzaneh Short film by Ethan Rains 2015 Last Knights Maria Septembers of Shiraz Habibeh 2016 Star Trek Beyond Commodore Paris Window Horses Mehrnaz Voice role The Promise Marta Boghosian 2018 A Simple Wedding Ziba HusseiniAlso executive producer 2019 The Cuban Bano AyoubFilm directed by Sergio Navarretta 2020 Run Sweetheart Run “First Lady” Dinah 2021 Ghostbusters: Afterlife Gozer the Gozerian Voice role; role shared with Olivia Wilde and Emma Portner 2023 Renfield Bellafrancesca Lobo 2024 Damsel Dragon Voice role Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps The Wise Woman Deadly Vows Melody Also known as Still Smiling 2026 Royally Screwed Queen Lenora The Alchemist Post-production
Television Year Title Role Notes1990 Matlock Saleslady Episode: "Nowhere to Turn"1993 Martin Malika Episode: "Jerome's in the House"1994 The Bold & The Beautiful Greesa Abineer Episode #18652001 Zereshk 2 episodes2004 Lila Ravan Television film2005 24 Dina Araz 12 episodes: Day 4Gold Derby TV Award for Best Drama Supporting ActressNominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film2006 Smith Charlie 7 episodes Will & Grace Pam Episode: "Cowboys and Iranians" Curious George Hat Salesperson Voice role, episode: "The Clean, Perfect Yellow Hat" ER Mrs. Riza Kardatay Episode: "Lost in America"2007 Grey's Anatomy Dr. Helen Crawford Episode: "Scars and Souvenirs"2008 House of Saddam Sajida Talfah 4 episodesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or MovieNominated—Gold Derby TV Award for Best Miniseries/TV Movie Supporting Actress Mina Voice role, episode: "MyPods and Boomsticks"2009 FlashForward Nhadra Udaya 3 episodes2011 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Detective Saliyah "Sunny" Qadri Episode: "Dirty" House Afsoun Hamidi Episode: "Moving On" NCIS Mariam Bawali Episode: "Safe Harbor"2012 Portlandia Nelofar Jamshidi Episode: "Cool Wedding" Dr. Lauren Baylor 3 episodes2013 Grimm Stefania Vaduva Popescu 7 episodes2014 Believe Mrs. Delkash Episode: "Origin" Bones Azita Vaziri Episode: "The Cold in the Case" Scorpion Dr. Cassandra Davis Episode: "True Colors"2015 Elementary Donya Esfandiari Episode: "Tag, You're Me"2015–2022 Chrisjen Avasarala Main role 6 seasons2016 Pearl Arlene TV film2017 Farah Madani 4 episodes2019 Queen Janna Voice role, 4 episodes Impulse Fatima 3 episodes2021 Arcane Enforcer Grayson Voice role, 4 episodes The Expanse: One Ship Chrisjen Avasarala Webisodes; 1 episode2022 The Flight Attendant Brenda 5 episodesArcher ClandestiCon Host Voice role, episode: "The Big Con"2023 Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight Forouzan Voice role, 13 episodes Mrs. Davis Virgin Mary Episode: "Great Gatsby 2001: A Space Odyssey"2024 Chad Zahra Episode: "Maman Bozorg" WondLa Darius Voice role, episode: "Chapter 4: Ghosts" The Penguin Nadia Maroni Miniseries; 4 episodes2025 The Wheel of Time Elaida a'Roihan Season 3 Creature Commandos Madam Gyurov Voice role, episode 6 "Priyatel Skelet"
Video games Year Game Voice role Notes 2010 Mass Effect 2Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay 2012 Mass Effect 3 2014 DestinyLakshmi-2/Maya Sundaresh 2017-2025 Destiny 2 2022 The Tale of Bistun Narrator Assassin's Creed Valhalla Roshan bint-La'Ahad "Shared History" DLC 2023 Assassin's Creed Mirage The Expanse: A Telltale Series Chrisjen Avasarala 2024 Ara: History Untold Narrator
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