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Golshifteh Farahani Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 4, 2026 • 3 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth10 July 1983

Age36 Years (as in 2019)

BirthplaceTehran, Iran

ProfessionActress, Musician, and Singer

NationalityIranian

Marital statusDivorced

FamilyFather - Behzad Farahani; Mother - Fahimeh Rahim Nia; Siblings - Azarakhsh Farahani, Shaghayegh Farahani

Golshifteh Farahani Biography

Iranian-born actress, musician and singer Golshifteh Farahani began performing as a child and built a cross-border career in film, theatre and music. After

Early life and background

Golshifteh Farahani was born Rahavard Farahani on 10 July 1983 in Tehran, Iran. Raised in a family active in the arts, her father is Behzad Farahani and her mother is Fahimeh Rahim Nia. From a young age she studied music, beginning piano lessons at age five and later attending a music school in Tehran. She grew up in Tehran and completed studies at Islamic Azad University in the city.

Career

Farahani launched her screen career as a teenager, making her acting debut in the Iranian film Derakht e Golabie (The Pear Tree) in 1998. Over the following decades she built a diverse body of work spanning Iranian and international cinema, theatre and music. Her film roles include Deux fereshté (Two Angels) (2003), Bab’Aziz: Le prince qui contemplait son âme (2004), Santouri/The Music Man (2007), Body of Lies (2008), Chicken With Plums/Poulet aux Prunes (2011), The Patience Stone (2012), Arab Blues (2019) and a role as Shansa in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).

Farahani has also worked in streaming and action cinema, appearing in the Netflix film Extraction (2020) as the character Nik Khan. Her stage credits include productions such as Maryam and Mardavij (2003), The Black Narcissus (2004), A Private Dream (2013) and Anna Karenina (2016). In music, she joined the band Kooch Neshin (Nomads) during her time in Iran and later collaborated with exiled Iranian musician Mohsen Namjoo on the album Oywas, released in October 2009. She has appeared in music videos including Pola (2014) and Paradis (2018).

Accolades

Farahani’s performances have been recognized at a number of international festivals. Early in her career she received a Best Actress award in the international section of the Fajr International Film Festival for The Pear Tree. She won the Prix d’Interprétation Féminine at the Three Continents Festival in Nantes in 2004 for Boutique, and later received Best Actress awards at the Kazan International Film Festival (2008) for M for Mother and multiple festival honors for The Patience Stone, including awards at the Gijón International Film Festival and the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in 2012. She served on the international jury at the 63rd Locarno Film Festival in 2010.

Public profile

Farahani’s work and public image have attracted widespread attention. She has been featured on magazine covers and ranked among independent critics’ beauty lists. Her public activities include environmental advocacy and engagement with public-health causes such as efforts to address tuberculosis in Iran.

Following her participation in international film projects she was forced into exile from Iran in 2008 and later relocated to Paris. During her career she has also been noted for roles that generated controversy in some quarters.

Personal life

Farahani is the daughter of theatre director and actor Behzad Farahani and actress and painter Fahimeh Rahim Nia. Her siblings include actor and composer Azarakhsh Farahani and actress Shaghayegh Farahani. Publicly reported relationships and marriages listed in available material include unions and partnerships with individuals identified as Amin Mahdavi, Louis Garrel and Christos Dorje Walker; public sources indicate multiple marriages and subsequent divorces, with marriage dates reported across the 2000s and 2010s.

Latest updates

In recent years Farahani has continued to work across film, theatre and music internationally. Highlights from the past decade include her appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) and a part in the Netflix production Extraction (2020). She remains active in artistic collaborations and public causes.

Physical characteristics

Farahani’s listed height is 169 cm (1.69 m / 5'6½"). Her eye colour is described as dark brown and her hair colour as black.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Golshifteh Farahani, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded
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Recent Work

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Played the character Shansa in the 2017 Hollywood film.

2017
Extraction

Appeared as Nik Khan in the 2020 Netflix production.

2020
Arab Blues

Acted in the 2019 film.

2019
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Career Highlights

  1. Debuted in Derakht e Golabie (The Pear Tree) in 1998
  2. Won Best Actress at Fajr International Film Festival (International Section) for The Pear Tree
  3. Prix d’Interprétation Féminine at Three Continents Festival (2004) for Boutique
  4. Best Actress at Kazan International Film Festival (2008) for M for Mother
  5. Multiple Best Actress awards for The Patience Stone (2012)
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Golshifteh Farahani born?

Golshifteh Farahani was born on 10 July 1983.

What is Golshifteh Farahani known for?

Golshifteh Farahani is known for actress, Musician, and Singer.

What is Golshifteh Farahani’s marital status?

Golshifteh Farahani's marital status is listed as Divorced.