Sarah Shahi

Her father, who was working at the American embassy in Iran, was slated for execution when the last Shah's regime collapsed in 1979, but was able to flee the country.

Shahi has an older brother, Cyrus, and a younger sister, Samantha, who is a production assistant.

Her birth name, Aahoo, means 'gazelle' in Persian.

Shahi adopted Sarah as her name in second grade after hearing a song called "Sarah" because she was "tormented" by other children about her birth name, Aahoo.

At her father's behest, she grew up speaking Persian in addition to English.

Shahi's parents began entering her in beauty pageants at the age of eight.

Shahi attended Trinity High School, and Southern Methodist University.

She was a member of Alpha Chi Omega during her time at SMU.

Aahoo Jahansouzshahi (born January 10, 1980), known professionally as Sarah Shahi, is an American actress.

Sarah Shahi was born Aahoo Jahansouzshahi on January 10, 1980 and raised in Euless, Texas.

Her father Abbas Jahansouzshahi and her mother Mahmonir Soroushazar, an interior designer, divorced when she was ten years old.

Her mother was born in Spain to an Iranian father and a Spanish mother.

Her father is from Iran.

Her father's family left Iran two years before the Iranian Revolution.

Shahi won the Miss Fort Worth pageant in 1997.

Hoping to become an actress, she joined the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (1999–2000) squad, despite not having cheered before.

Later, she moved to Los Angeles.

While working as an extra on the set of Dr. T and the Women in Texas, Shahi met director Robert Altman, who encouraged her to move to Hollywood, where she received roles in several series, including Alias, Dawson's Creek, Reba and Supernatural.

She played Carmen on The L Word in 2005, Kate Reed in the USA Network legal drama Fairly Legal (2011–2012), Sameen Shaw on the CBS crime drama Person of Interest (2012–2016), and Billie on Sex/Life.

She has also appeared in the main role Det. Dani Reese in Life, and in a supporting role in Alias.

In 2005, she appeared in the supporting character role of DJ Carmen de la Pica Morales on The L Word, which she joined in its second season.

Shahi's two-year contract was not renewed after the end of the fourth season, and her character was written out.

Shahi was named number 90 on the Maxim "Hot 100 of 2005" list, moving up to number 66 in 2006 and 36 in 2012.

She ranked number 5 on the AfterEllen.com hot list in 2007.

She played Farah in the second season of Sleeper Cell, and also appeared in HBO's The Sopranos in 2007, in the Season 6b episode "Kennedy and Heidi" as Sonya Aragon, a stripper and college student who spends a weekend with Tony after a death in his family.

In 2007, she secured a small role in Rush Hour 3 as Zoe, a scantily clad rich girl who is pursued by Chris Tucker's character, Detective Carter.

In 2007, she took on her first permanent leading role on a TV series, co-starring with Damian Lewis in the NBC series Life as homicide detective Dani Reese.

The series ran for two seasons.

In October 2009, Shahi landed the lead role in the USA Network pilot, Facing Kate.

Shahi began filming in November 2009.

The show followed the life of Kate Reed, a legal mediator who is frustrated with the bureaucracy and injustice she witnesses in the legal system.

The series title was later changed to Fairly Legal.

She appeared on the cover of Maxims 2012 'TV's Hottest Girls' Issue in October 2012.

The show was cancelled after two seasons in November 2012.

Shahi was cast as a recurring love interest for Taylor Kinney's character Lt. Kelly Severide on NBC's show Chicago Fire in October 2012.

She was cast in the recurring role of Sameen Shaw on Person of Interest, making her first appearance in the second season episode "Relevance", which aired in February 2013.

In May 2013, CBS President Nina Tassler announced that Shahi would be added as a series regular for its third season.

In 2018, she starred in the series Reverie.

In 2019, she appeared in a recurring role in City on a Hill on Showtime, and appeared in seven episodes of the series The Rookie as romantic interest Jessica Russo.

In 2023, she received critical praise for her role of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Zahra Bankston in the LGBTQ romantic comedy film Red, White & Royal Blue.