Rahavard Farahani (; born 10 July 1983), known professionally as Golshifteh Farahani (), is an Iranian actress. She gained recognition for her performances in The Pear Tree (1998), which won her the Best Actress award at the Fajr International Film Festival, Half Moon (2006), which won the Golden Shell award at the 2006 San Sebastián Film Festival, and M for Mother (2006), which won her a Roshd International Film Festival award and was chosen to represent Iran in the Best Foreign Film Category of that year's Academy Awards.
She appeared in a supporting role in the American film Body of Lies (2008), which stirred controversy in Iran, making her the first Iranian in a Hollywood production since Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979. Subsequently, she was banned from working in Iran by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance for not wearing a headscarf and eventually exiled. Since then, she had been based in Paris until November 2017, when she moved to Ibiza.
Her later work spans Iranian, European, Israeli, and American productions, including About Elly (2009), The Patience Stone (2012), for which she won a Best Actress award at the Gijón International Film Festival, and was nominated for Most Promising Actress at the 39th César Awards, and Two Friends (2015), for which she was nominated for Best Female Revelation at the 21st Lumière Awards. She has also appeared in Paterson (2016), The Song of Scorpions (2017), Girls of the Sun (2018), Extraction (2020) and its sequel (2023), as well as the television series Invasion (2021–present) and Alpha (2025). She also starred in two Israeli films directed by Eran Riklis: Shelter (2017) and Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024).
Early life
Farahani was born in Tehran, Iran, to Behzad Farahani, a theatre director and actor, and stage actress Fahimeh Rahiminia. Her sister is actress Shaghayegh Farahani. The name Golshifteh was invented by her father and means 'loving flower', whereas her legal name is Rahavard, and means 'gift of the road'.
She began studying music and piano at the age of five, and later entered a music school in Tehran. At 14, she was cast as the lead in Dariush Mehrjui's The Pear Tree, a role for which she won the Crystal Roc for Best Actress from the International Section of the 16th Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran.
Career
Farahani starred in the drama About Elly, which won Best Picture at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival and a Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Due to her appearance in the Hollywood movie Body of Lies, seen by Iranian authorities as a collaboration with American propaganda and a violation of Islamic law due to Farahani's appearance without hijab, she has not been allowed to return and work in Iran since 2009, and has since resided in France. Since moving to Paris, she has worked with directors Roland Joffé, Huner Saleem, Marjane Satrapi, Jim Jarmusch, Neil Burger and Julia Ducournau among others, and has been a member of the international jury at the 13th Marrakech International Film Festival, which was presided by Martin Scorsese. Farahani starred in The Patience Stone (2012), directed by Atiq Rahimi from his novel; it was favorably received by most reviewers. She also starred in a 2012 César Award video in the Most Promising Actors category.
In 2016, Farahani played Anna Karenina on stage in Paris and received laudatory reviews. She also played the lead role of Laura in director Jim Jarmusch's American feature film Paterson, opposite actor Adam Driver. The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews, scoring 96% approval on the movie site Rotten Tomatoes.
In 2017, she appeared in the fantasy film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales as the sea witch Shansa.
In 2020, she was in the action film Extraction as Nik Khan. In 2023, Farahani was selected as a member of the main completion jury at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival. In 2025, she led Julia Ducournau's latest film Alpha which premiered at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.
Non-film work Farahani is involved in environmental causes, and is an advocate for the eradication of tuberculosis in Iran.
In Iran, she was a member of Kooch Neshin (Nomads), a band that won the 2nd Tehran Avenue underground rock competition. Since leaving Iran, she has teamed up with another exiled Iranian musician, Mohsen Namjoo; their album Oy was released in October 2009.
In December 2014, she took 6th place in the annual Independent Critics Beauty List of 2014.
Farahani, who has been exiled from Iran since 2008 for refusing to wear a hijab while acting in international films, has publicly supported the Mahsa Amini protests. On 28 October 2022, British rock band Coldplay invited Farahani to perform with them a cover of Shervin Hajipour's Baraye, which has been described as "the anthem" of the protests, at the band's concert at the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires. The concert was broadcast live to over 3,500 theatres worldwide in more than 70 countries as part of a two-night-only live-event cinema special during the Latin America leg of the band's Music of the Spheres World Tour.
Public image
After Farahani's appearance in the U.S. film Body of Lies, it was reported that Iranian government authorities had prevented her from leaving Iran. This was denied by her colleagues, and she appeared at the movie's American premiere."Colleague denies Iran actress faced travel ban: report" , AFP, Tehran, 26 August 2008. Her last film performance in Iran was in About Elly directed by Asghar Farhadi.
In January 2012, it was reported that Farahani would not be welcome in her native Iran after posing nude in the French magazine Madame Figaro. According to Britain's Daily Telegraph, Iranian government officials told her, "Iran does not need actors or artists like you. You may offer your artistic services somewhere else." A picture from the shoot on her Facebook page initiated a lively debate about her behavior. She also appeared topless in a short black-and-white film by Jean-Baptiste Mondino called Corps et Âmes (Bodies and Souls). She also posed for fully nude photographs taken by Paolo Roversi for an Égoïste cover and editorial.
In May 2026, a scandal was reported about an alleged affair between her and the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron. A correspondence between the two allegedly led to commotion between the President and his wife, the cause of which staff of the Elysee Palace has denied.
Criticism of Iran Farahani is known for her criticism of the Iranian government, specifically addressing the restrictive policies of women's rights and artistic freedom. She has often expressed this in interviews and social media posts, talking against the country's mandatory hijab laws and the suppression of female voices in the arts. As the 2025-2026 Iranian protests erupted, she spoke about the internet blackout in Iran, stating that international coverage of the violence in Iran will enable “the Iranian people who are risking their lives for their freedom [to] feel supported and not feel their sacrifice will be in silence.”
Personal life
In 2003, Farahani married Amin Mahdavi, the brother of interior designer India Mahdavi, and from whom she later separated. She was also in a relationship with French actor Louis Garrel, who directed and co-starred with her in Two Friends (2015). In a September 2015 interview published in Grazia, Farahani revealed that she had married Christos Dorje Walker, an Australian, five months earlier.. In May 2018, she was in a relationship with a "German hippie" whom she met in the Nevada desert at the Burning Man festival.
Exiled from Iran In 2008, before the release of Ridley Scott's Body of Lies, Farahani was placed under a travel ban. After the release, she was reportedly banned from working by the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance following her appearance without a headscarf at the film's New York premiere. Upon her return to Iran, it was reported that the ayatollahs took her passport away as further punishment. When asked about being "forced into exile", Farahani suggested that the authorities initially "had no big issue" with her. However, when she wanted to travel to the U.K., her passport was seized as the authorities expressed concern that "she would be used as an Iranian symbol by the West." The judge in charge argued that authorities had to watch Body of Lies before sentencing her. Eventually, she was handed back her passport and told "she had to leave Iran as soon as possible." She fled to France after being fined around €2 million. Shortly after, she spoke out from Paris in support of the failed Iranian Green Movement and was told "not to return to Iran." In 2012, following her appearance in a short black-and-white video to promote the César Awards, where she revealed her right breast, she was exiled as a result. In November 2017, after living in Paris for eight years, she moved to Ibiza, splitting her time between there and Porto, Portugal. She had previously indicated her intent to leave France, explaining that she was severely impacted by the bureaucracy and banking system.
Filmography Film
Year Title Role Notes1998 The Pear Tree Mitra2001 Seven Acts Fereshteh2002 Zamaneh Zamaneh2003 Two Angels Azar2004 Somewhere Else Raha Boutique Eti The Tear of the Cold Ronak2005 The Fish Fall in Love Touka Bab'Aziz Noor2006 Gis Borideh Maryam In the Name of the Father Habibeh Half Moon Niwemang M for Mother Sepideh2007 The Music Man Hanieh To Each His Own Cinema Herself2008 The Wall Setareh There's Always a Woman in Between Maryam Shirin Woman in audience Body of Lies Aisha2009 About Elly Sepideh2011 If You Die, I'll Kill You Siba There Be Dragons Leila Chicken With Plums Iran2012 The Patience Stone The Woman Just Like a Woman Mona2013 My Sweet Pepper Land Govend2014 Rosewater Maryam Bahari Eden Yasmin Exodus: Gods and Kings Nefertari2015 Two Friends Mona Go Home Nada2016 Sophie's Misfortunes Madame de Réan Finding Altamira Conchita Paterson Laura2017 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Shansa The Song of Scorpions Nooran Shelter Mona The UpsideMaggie Santa & Cie Amélie2018 The Night Eats the World Sarah Girls of the Sun Bahar2019 Blind Spot Elham Arab Blues Selma Derwich2020 Extraction Nik Khan2022 Brother and Sister Faunia Vuillard My Father's Dragon Dela Elevator Voice role A Romantic Comedy Salomé2023 Extraction 2 Nik Khan2024 Hood Witch Nour Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust 242B Voice role William Tell Suna Reading Lolita in Tehran Azar Nafisi2025 Alpha Alpha's mother 2026 One Minute to Midnight Tina Robbie Post-productionTBA Nik Khan Filming
Television Year Title Role Notes2018–2021 Gen:Lock Yasamin 'Yaz' Madrani Voice role2021 VTC Nora Main cast ( Surge)2021–present Invasion Aneesha Malik Main cast
Music video Year Song Artist Notes2014 "Pola" Jabberwocky2018 "Paradis" Orelsan
Theatre Year Play RoleNotes 2003 Maryam and Mardavij Mayan 2004 The Black Narcissus Workshop 2005 Mofatesh (The Inspector) Firoozeh Banned in Iran 2013 A Private DreamSarah Toured North America (March–April 2013) 2016Anna Karenina Anna Karenina Toured around France and in Paris at the Théâtre de la Tempête directed by Gaëtan Vassart
Concerts Date VenueNotes 10 August 2009 Sala Verdi, Milan Conservatory With Mohsen Namjoo, presentation of the new album Oy 9 November 2009 Lido, Venice With Mohsen Namjoo, during the Venice Film Festival 28 October 2022 River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires Guest appearance at Coldplay's Music of the Spheres, performed Baraye
Awards and nominations