Golshifteh Farahani

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. == Controversy ==

in 2009 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. Her last film performance in Iran was in About Elly directed by Asghar Farhadi. 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. == Criticism on Iran ==

Farahani is known for her criticism of the Iranian regime, 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, and news of the 2026 Iran massacres became global, 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, 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" who she met in the Nevada desert at the Burning Man festival. 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 Television Music video == Theatre ==