Pooya Mohseni is an Iranian-American actress and LGBTQ rights activist. She has appeared in various television series including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Madam Secretary, and The Walking Dead: Dead City. In film, she appeared in the slasher film Terrifier (2016) and starred in See You Then (2021), the latter of which garnered her critical acclaim.
Personal life and career Mohseni was born in Tehran, Iran, and moved to New York City, U.S., at the age of 18. She studied design in New York and later became an actress.
Mohseni has spoken about the harassment and discrimination she faced in Iran, including several suicide attempts due to her identity as a transgender woman. She also revealed that she faced significant discrimination in the United States as a transgender Iranian immigrant. After the legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.S. in 2015, she publicly came out as transgender. She is fluent in both Persian and English and is an active advocate for LGBTQ rights, as well as a vocal supporter of immigrant and women's issues. She also contributes to writing and consulting on LGBTQ-centric stories.
She has appeared as a guest on several TV shows including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Falling Water, Madam Secretary, and Big Dogs on Amazon Prime Video. In 2016, she appeared in the independent slasher film Terrifier. In 2021, she starred in the drama See You Then. Critical reviews highlighted her performance. In 2022, she wrote and starred in the 18-minute short film Transit: A New York City Fairytale. That year, she appeared in the Sanaz Toossi play English. In 2025, she appeared in three episodes of The Walking Dead: Dead City. She has contributed her voice to multiple video games including Destiny 2: The Final Shape and Hellboy: Web of Wyrd.
Filmography
Television YearTitleRoleNotes2011So Damn Funny ShowTrainee; Bitchy Boss1 episode2013Celebrity Ghost StoriesNadine's Mom1 episode2013Below the LineMina1 episode2014Jus' Sayin' ProductionsMom1 episode2015Madam SecretarySamilia Mahdavi1 episode2016Falling WaterDr. Duria3 episodes2017The Four Letter WordGhazal2 episodes2018Grosse MisconductAlicia Castile6 episodes2020Law & Order: Special Victims UnitJudge Namazi1 episode2020Big DogsBaijanti Divya5 episodes2020–2021Rival PeakWinter12 episodes2021High HerstoryThe Storyteller1 episode2021Tawkin' with the RosesHerself1 episode2025The Walking Dead: Dead CityRoksana3 episodes
Film YearTitleRoleNotes2012When Death CallsLorraine Castro2014Bloody Subway PartyDaisy2014SubwaysStephanie2015Brutal ColorsMysterious2015Giorgio Bush and the B-peopleBank representative2015Before the SnowNitya2016LuckyPrisca2016TerrifierCat Lady2017Ghost Source ZeroNewscaster2017My Brother's KeeperMadeline2019Theresa & AllisonThe Mysterious Woman2020LapsisNoori Capahardi2020ThorpFrannie2021See You ThenKris Ahadi2021I See You and You See MeSarah2021Less Than or Equal ToBailey2022RemoteRamesh2022EntanglementAllie2023Nightmare Radio: The Night StalkerEartha2023The ArrivalJayce Fisher2023BoundYeva2024HeatherHeather
Video games YearTitleRoleNotes2022Horizon Forbidden WestIvinna; Sentekka2023Hellboy: Web of WordScheherezade2023Thirsty SuitorsSound2024Destiny 2: The Final ShapeMicah-10
References