Yara Sayeh Shahidi (born February 10, 2000) is an American actress and producer. She began her career as a child, appearing in the films Imagine That (2009), Butter (2011), and Alex Cross (2012).
Shahidi played a starring role as the oldest daughter Zoey Johnson in the ABC sitcom Black-ish (2014–2022) and its spin-off series Grown-ish (2018–2024). She received NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Black-ish and three NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series nominations for Grown-ish. Time included her on "The 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016" list. She did voice over work in the films Smallfoot (2018), Fearless (2020), PAW Patrol: The Movie (2021), and My Father's Dragon (2022).
Shahidi played her first adult lead role in the 2019 drama film, The Sun Is Also a Star. In 2023, she played Tinker Bell in the fantasy adventure film Peter Pan & Wendy, and executive produced and starred in the romantic comedy-drama film, Sitting in Bars with Cake.
Early life and education Yara Sayeh Shahidi was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Keri Salter Shahidi and Afshin Shahidi, a photographer.Brother Troy R. Gibson II Her mother, Keri Shahidi (born Keri Jamelda Salter), is of African American and Choctaw heritage, and her father Afshin Shahidi is Iranian. Afshin was one of the principal photographers for musician Prince, who kept a signed photo of Yara in his editing suite at Paisley Park. The Shahidi 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. The rapper Nas is her first cousin once removed.Shahidi on the Fuse TV series White Guy Talk Show, transcribed by Yara means "Someone who is close to your heart" in Persian; Shahidi is a common surname in Iran and means "martyr" in Persian.
Shahidi attended the Immaculate Heart School for middle and high school. She left to concentrate on her acting career, graduating in 2017 from Dwight Global Online School. In 2017, Shahidi was admitted to Harvard University. She began her studies there in 2018 after taking a gap year, with a plan to major in Interdisciplinary Sociology and Black American Studies. Shahidi graduated from Harvard in 2022.
Acting career Shahidi began her career when she was 6 years old, appearing in television commercials 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. Her first on-screen appearance was in an episode of HBO comedy series, Entourage in 2007. In 2009, she had a recurring role as Jessica St. Clair's character daughter in the short-lived ABC comedy series, In the Motherhood. Later that year, she guest-starred on Cold Case and Wizards of Waverly Place.
Shahidi made her big screen debut in 2009, starring opposite Eddie Murphy in Paramount Pictures comedy film Imagine That, for which she received a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film. She also appeared in the action film Salt in 2010 as a next door neighbor to Angelina Jolie's character. The following year, she starred in the comedy film Butter that premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and garnered mixed reviews from critics. In 2012, she appeared in the action thriller film Alex Cross opposite Tyler Perry. From 2012 to 2013, Shahidi was a regular cast member in the syndicated sitcom The First Family playing the role of Chloe Johnson, the daughter of President William Johnson. In 2013, she played young Olivia Pope in two episodes of the third season of ABC political thriller series, Scandal.
2014–2022 In 2014, Shahidi was cast as a 14-year-old Zoey Johnson, the eldest daughter of Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross's characters in the ABC comedy series Black-ish created by Kenya Barris. She won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the show's first season. She also received Gracie Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Breakthrough Role in 2016 and BET YoungStars Award at the 17th BET Awards. She left the series after three seasons but appeared as a recurring guest-star in latter seasons. ABC announced in 2017 that Shahidi would be headlining a Black-ish spinoff, titled Grown-ish, on its sister network Freeform. The series premiered on January 3, 2018, with the positive reviews from critics. For her performance, Shahidi received three NAACP Image Awards nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. She left the series after five seasons, but stayed as an executive producer and recurring guest-star for its sixth and final season in 2023.
In 2016, Shahidi signed to model with New York's Women Management modeling agency, in hopes of providing a platform for more women of color. Time included her on "The 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016" list. She was ranked one of the best dressed women in 2018 by fashion website Net-a-Porter. She was one of fifteen women selected to appear on the cover of the September 2019 issue of British Vogue, by guest editor Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. In 2021, Shahidi debuted a sportswear collaboration with Adidas.
In 2019, Shahidi played the leading role in the teen drama film, The Sun Is Also a Star based on the young adult novel of the same name by Nicola Yoon. It was theatrically released in the United States on May 17, 2019, by Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $6.8 million worldwide. She co-produced Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film-winning film Hair Love (2019). She did voice over work in the films Smallfoot (2018), Fearless (2020), PAW Patrol: The Movie (2021), and My Father's Dragon (2022). In 2020, Shahidi and her mother launched their production company 7th Sun and signed a deal with ABC Studios to produce shows. Their first project was Smoakland, a single-camera comedy pilot for Freeform in 2021. Later in 2021, it was announced that they develop adaptation of Cole Brown's book Greyboy: Finding Blackness in a White World.
2023–present Shahidi starred in the Apple TV+ anthology series Extrapolations that premiered on March 17, 2023. She played Tinker Bell in the fantasy adventure film Peter Pan & Wendy, a remake of Peter Pan. It premiered on Disney+ on April 28, 2023. Later in 2023, Shahidi executive produced and played the leading role in the romantic comedy-drama film Sitting in Bars with Cake alongside Odessa A'zion. The film received generally positive reviews from critics with Shahidi's performance as a law student struggling to fulfill her role as a caregiver to her friend diagnosed with cancer receiving praise, though critics generally agreed that she had been overshadowed by A’Zion. Carla Meyer of the San Francisco Chronicle felt that Shahidi's friendship with A’Zion was, "the most authentic element of the film". She received NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture nomination for her performance.
Shahidi was set to star alongside Maddie Ziegler and Avantika in the thriller Pretty Lethal but exited the film.
Political activism Shahidi founded Eighteen x 18 with social news publisher NowThis, which "will be a platform to encourage [her] peers to vote for the very first time in our upcoming midterm elections." Her other organizations include Yara's Club, a partnership with Young Women's Leadership Network (YWLN) of New York, which provides online mentorship in hopes to end poverty through education.
Shahidi's activism was noticed by former first lady Michelle Obama, who wrote her a letter of recommendation to Harvard University. She was also given the opportunity by Teen Vogue to interview Hillary Clinton in 2017.
In 2021, Shahidi joined the Dior Stand with Women campaign.
In October 2023, Shahidi signed an open letter for the "Artists4Ceasefire" campaign urging US President Joe Biden to push for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2009 Imagine That Olivia Danielson 2010 Salt Salt's Young Neighbor Unthinkable Katie 2011 Butter Destiny 2012 Alex Cross Janelle Cross 2018 Smallfoot Brenda Voice role 2019 The Sun Is Also a Star Natasha Kingsley Hair Love Co-executive producer 2020 Fearless Melanie Voice role 2021 Paw Patrol: The Movie Kendra Wilson 2022 My Father's Dragon Callie 2023 Peter Pan & Wendy Tinker Bell Sitting in Bars with Cake Jane Executive producer2026Street SmartStella 2027 The Beekeeper 2 Post-production TBA One Attempt Remaining Filming
Television Year Title Role Notes 2007 Entourage Kandace West 1 episode 2009 In the Motherhood Esther 5 episodes Cold Case Meesha Sullivan '91 1 episode Wizards of Waverly Place Olive 1 episode 2010 Lie to Me Olivia 1 episode $♯*! My Dad Says Girl Scout 1 episode 2011 The Cape Layla 1 episode Family Guy Little Girl Voice role; 1 episode Rip City Montana Television film 2012 The Finder Adina 1 episode 2012–2013 The First Family Chloe Johnson 23 episodes 2013 Scandal Young Olivia Pope 2 episodes 2014 Bad Teacher Jalissa 1 episode The Fosters Maddie 2 episodes 2014–2022Black-ish Zoey Johnson Main role (seasons 1–3), Recurring role (seasons 4–8); 79 episodes 2016–2018 Trollhunters Darci Scott Voice role; 10 episodes 2018–2024 Grown-ish Zoey Johnson Lead role (seasons 1–5), Recurring role (season 6); Also executive producer 2018–2019 3Below Darci Scott Voice role; 8 episodes 2023 Extrapolations Carmen Jalilo 1 episode
Music +YearTitleArtist(s)Refs.2018"Nice for What"Drake2023"Mosquito"PinkPantheress
As director +YearTitleNotesRefs.2018ShatterboxEpisode: "X"2022Growing UpEpisode: "Sofia"
Discography Year Title Artist Album Notes2026 "Birds & the Bees"Baby KeemCa$ino Producer, writer, additional vocals "Circus Circus Freestyle" Producer, writer
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResult2016BET AwardsYoungStars AwardBlack-ish201720182017Black Reel AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actress, Comedy SeriesBlack-ish2018Outstanding Actress, Comedy SeriesGrown-ish20212016Gracie AwardOutstanding Female Actor in a Breakthrough Role Black-ish2017MTV Movie & TV AwardsBest Breakthrough Performance2015NAACP Image AwardOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 2019Outstanding Actress in a Comedy SeriesGrown-ish202020212024Outstanding Actress in a Motion PictureSitting in Bars with Cake2019People's Choice Awards The Comedy TV Star of 2019Grown-ish2020The Comedy TV Star of 20202021The Female TV Star of 2021The Comedy TV Star of 20212016Screen Actors Guild AwardsOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy SeriesBlack-ish20172015Teen Choice AwardsChoice TV: Breakout Star2017Choice Comedy TV Actress2018Choice Comedy TV ActressGrown-ish2019Choice Summer Movie ActressThe Sun Is Also a StarChoice Comedy TV ActressGrown-ishChoice Summer TV Actress2010Young Artist AwardBest Leading Young Actress in a Feature FilmImagine That2016Best Performance in a TV Series – Leading Teen ActressBlack-ish
See also List of Iranian-Americans List of African Americans List of Iranian actresses
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