Sharona Nazarian was born in Iran to a
Jewish family. After the
Iranian Revolution, her family had to flee Iran due to religious persecution. Alongside her mother and younger brother, the family initially settled in Israel before moving to the United States, where she would reunite with her father. Nazarian completed a double major in psychology and sociology from the
University of Southern California and a doctorate of psychology from
Alliant International University. Before joining the Beverly Hills City Council, Nazarian worked as a clinical psychologist and served as vice president of Beit Halochem USA. == Political career ==