Nazanin Boniadi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nazanin Boniadi
نازنین بنیادی
Boniadi in 2018
Born	1980 (age 44–45) Tehran, Iran
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of California, Irvine (BS)
Occupation	Actress activist
Years active	2006–present

Nazanin Boniadi (born 1980) is a British actress and activist. She was born in Tehran, Iran, and grew up in London, England. She later went to university in the United States.

Nazanin got her first big acting role in the TV show General Hospital. She has since appeared in many popular shows and movies. These include How I Met Your Mother, Homeland, Hotel Mumbai, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Besides acting, Nazanin Boniadi is also a strong voice for human rights. She focuses on helping young people and women.

Early Life and Education

Nazanin Boniadi was born in 1980 in Tehran, Iran. Shortly after she was born, her family moved to London, England. They sought safety there as political refugees.

She went to a private school in Hampstead, London. When she was a young girl, she enjoyed playing the violin and performing ballet.

Nazanin later moved to the United States for college. She earned a degree in biological sciences from the University of California, Irvine (UCI). At UCI, she won an award for her research in molecular biology. This research looked into cancer treatment and heart transplant rejection. She also helped edit her university's medical newspaper.

In 2009, she took a short course in drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Nazanin Boniadi's Acting Career

Nazanin Boniadi decided to change her career path from science to acting in 2006. Her first major acting job was on the TV show General Hospital. She played the character Leyla Mir. This made her the first actress born in Iran to have a regular role on an American soap opera. She was also the first to play a Middle Eastern character in American daytime TV.

She also had smaller roles in big Hollywood movies. These included Charlie Wilson's War, Iron Man, and The Next Three Days.

In 2011, she played Nora in the popular TV show How I Met Your Mother. Her character was a love interest for Barney Stinson, played by Neil Patrick Harris. She returned to this role in later seasons.

In 2012, she appeared in a TV commercial for Nespresso with actor George Clooney.

From 2013 to 2014, Boniadi joined the cast of Homeland. She played Fara Sherazi, a CIA analyst. She became a main character in the show's fourth season.

She also appeared in seven episodes of Scandal as Adnan Salif. In 2016, she played Esther in the movie Ben-Hur. This film was a remake of the classic story.

In 2014, she narrated a documentary called To Light a Candle. This film was about the unfair treatment of Baháʼís in Iran.

In 2018, she starred in the movie Hotel Mumbai. She played Zahra Kashani, a British-Iranian heiress. The film was based on the real 2008 Mumbai attacks.

From 2018 to 2019, she received praise for her role as Clare Quayle in the TV show Counterpart.

In 2020, it was announced that Nazanin Boniadi would join The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. This is a fantasy series on Amazon Prime. In 2022, it was revealed she would play Bronwyn, a single mother and healer. She later left the role before the second season to focus on her activism.

Nazanin Boniadi's Activism and Human Rights Work

Boniadi and Kamala Harris discuss Mahsa Amini protests, October 2022

Nazanin Boniadi is very active in human rights work. She especially focuses on the rights of young people and women. From 2009 to 2015, she was a spokesperson for Amnesty International USA. She spoke out about the unfair treatment of Iranian youth, women, and prisoners of conscience. She still works with Amnesty International. In 2020, she became an ambassador for Amnesty International UK.

In 2009, she lent her voice to a public service announcement for Amnesty International. She also campaigned for laws to protect women from violence. She led "The Neda Project" with Amnesty International.

In 2010, she started a petition for Iranian film directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof. They were accused of "propaganda against the state." The petition gathered over 21,000 signatures. She helped deliver this petition to the United Nations in New York.

In 2011, she supported the "Free the Hikers" campaign. This campaign aimed to free American hikers held in Iran.

In 2012, she spoke at an event about women's rights in Washington, D.C. She also worked with Roxana Saberi to help free filmmaker Behrouz Ghobadi from prison in Iran.

In 2013, she was a main speaker at a peace conference in Dallas, Texas.

Nazanin Boniadi has written articles about human rights for news outlets like CNN and The Washington Post.

In 2014, she became a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). This is a think tank that studies foreign policy. She became a lifetime member in 2020.

From 2015 to 2021, she was on the board of directors for the Center for Human Rights in Iran.

In 2019, she spoke about the case of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer in Tehran. She has also appeared on BBC World News and CNN International.

In September 2022, she became very active during the Mahsa Amini protests in Iran. She asked foreign governments to help the protesters. In October 2022, she met with Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States. In November 2022, she spoke at the United Nations Security Council. She said that the hijab was not always part of Iran's culture.

In June 2023, she praised Australia for helping to remove the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. She also asked the Australian Government to call the IRGC a terror organization.

Awards and Recognition

• Around 2000: Won an award for her research in cancer treatment and heart transplant rejection at UCI.
• 2008: Nominated for an NAACP Image Award for her role in General Hospital.
• 2009: Received a Webby Award for her voiceover in an Amnesty International public service announcement.
• 2011: Won the Social Cinema Award at the Ischia Global Film & Music Festival for her human rights work.
• 2014: Received the City of Second Chances Award from the Program for Torture Victims.
• 2015: Nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for her work in Homeland.
• 2018: Chosen by People magazine as one of their "25 Women Changing the World."
• 2019: Nominated for Best Actress at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards for Hotel Mumbai.
• 2020: Received the Raising Awareness Award from Freedom House.
• 2020: Awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
• 2023: Received the Sydney Peace Prize.

Personal Life

Nazanin Boniadi speaks both English and Persian fluently. She holds British nationality.

In 2017, she was living in Los Angeles, California, U.S. As of 2019, she had only visited Iran once since her family left when she was a baby.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

See also

In Spanish: Nazanin Boniadi para niños