Faryal Gohar (born 18 December 1959) is a Pakistani actress, model, television writer and human rights activist. She is known for her roles in dramas Uraan, Chaandni Raatain, Chand Grehan, Wisal and Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderellayain.
Early life Faryal was born on 18 December 1959, in Lahore, Pakistan. She attended Lahore American School, she enjoyed playing sports and she played softball eventually she became the captain of softball in her school. Then she went to Kinnaird College for Women there she took part in sports. Later she went to Canada to study political economy and studied at McGill University. After graduating from McGill University, she moved to the United States and attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she studied documentary film.
Career Faryal made her debut as an actress on PTV in 1975 and she worked in drama Zanjeer. She worked as a model and was a popular model in 1970s. She appeared in drama Traffik with her husband Jamal Shah. Then she appeared in dramas Uraan, Chand Grehan and Chaandni Raatain.
In 1984, she established the Fine Arts Department at the University of Balochistan. She also appeared in telefilm Gul Phenke Hein as Jahanara Faryal joined Ajoka Theatre which was founded by her sister Madeeha and she did many theatre plays in the 1980s and the 1990s.
Faryal was appointed as UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund in 1999.
In 1997 she appeared in the movie Zar Gul as Yasmin and in 2014 in the movie Tamanna as Madame Fatima. Then she appeared in drama Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderellayain as Daaro Maasi along with actress Shabnam and Qavi Khan.
In 2018 she was appointed as Goodwill Cancer Care Ambassador by Cancer Care Hospital & Research Center.
Faryal was appointed as Goodwill Softball Ambassador by Federation of Pakistan president Haider Khan Lehri in 2019.
Personal life Faryal married actor Jamal Shah and they were a power couple to audiences in Pakistan after they fell in love working together in cinema and art industry together for quite a long time but 9 years later they divorced. During her marriage to Jamal, she had conceived but developed complications in the pregnancy, leading to a miscarriage. In 2002, Faryal married Irfan Jamil Rahman, a Pakistani doctor in California in the United States, but he died from cancer in 2011. Faryal's elder sister actress Madeeha Gauhar died in 2018. Faryal is the aunt of actress Savera Nadeem and sister-in-law to screenwriter Shahid Nadeem.
Filmography Television YearTitleRoleNetwork1975 Zanjeer Maria PTV1988 Band Gali Nida PTV1988 Kohkan Zari PTV1989 Traffik Romana Channel 41989 Neelay Hath Zarmeen PTV1992 Wisal Zonia PTV1995 Chand Grehan Gulbahar PTV1995 Uraan Amira PTV2002 Chaandni Raatain Abginey Aamir PTV2008 Brunch With Bushra Ansari Herself Geo News2010 Saza Aur Jaza Roshna PTV2018 Chakkar Kishwar BOL Entertainment2018 Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderellayain Daaro Maasi BOL Entertainment
Telefilm YearTitleRole1990 Gul Phenke Hein Jahanara
Film YearTitleRole1997 Zar Gul Yasmin2014 Tamanna Madame Fatima
Music video Year Song Singer(s) Notes2010 Koi Dil Mein Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Co-star Salman Shahid
Philanthropy In 1994, She participate in a fundraising event for the cancer hospital in Lahore, which was founded by Imran Khan. Faryal sold her house in Zaman Park and gave that money to the raising funds for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.
Ambassadorship UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador in 1999 Ambassador for Cancer Care in 2018 Pakistan softball Ambassador in 2019
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Result Title Ref. 2003 2nd Lux Style Awards Best Actress (TV) Chaandni Raatain 2007 Patras Bokhari Awards Best Novel Writer No Space for Further Burials 2024 Roger Deakin Awards Best Writer An Abundance of Wild Roses 2025 Banff Mountain Book Competition Best Novel
Bibliography Faryal authored a critically novel titled The Scent of Wet Earth in August about exploration of desire and loss set in present day. Then she wrote another book titled No Space for Further Burials mentioning concerns about the socio-political situation for which she won Patras Bokhari Awards and the novel was translated in several European languages. In 2024 she wrote a novel titled An Abundance of Wild Roses about a lonely boy.
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