Sarah Shahi

Sarah Shahi
Born	Aahoo Jahansouz Shahi
Other names	Sara Shahi
Occupation(s)	Actress Model
Years active	2000-
Spouse	Steve Howey (2009-)

Aahoo Jahansouz (Template:Lang-fa), also known as Sarah Shahi (born January 10, 1980) is an American actress of Iranian and Spanish descent. A former NFL Cheerleader, Shahi was named #90 on the Maxim magazine "Hot 100 of 2005" list; she moved up to #66 in 2006. Sarah is married to actor Steve Howey, whom she met on the set of Reba in 2004. She has starred in The L Word and Life.

Early life and career

Sarah Shahi was born in Euless, Texas, to a Spanish mother and Iranian father, Abbas Shahi. She is a great-great-granddaughter of the 19th century Iranian king Fath Ali Shah Qajar. Her real given name, Aahoo, is Persian for deer. She attended Trinity High School and Dallas' Southern Methodist University, majoring in English and Opera. Shahi started her career as a beauty queen during her teen years. She won the Miss Fort Worth USA pageant in 1997. She joined the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders 1999–2000 squad and appeared on the cover of their 2000 calendar.She is fluent in English and Farsi.

Acting career

While working as an extra on the set of Dr. T and the Women, she met director Robert Altman, who encouraged her to move to Hollywood. Once in L.A., she got various recurrent roles in several famous series, such as Alias, where she played Jenny, and Dawson's Creek, where she was Sadia Shaw. Shahi was also the first ghost in Supernatural, the CW paranormal drama series.

She is best known for her role as the Mexican-American DJ Carmen de la Pica Morales in the Showtime drama television series The L Word, which she joined in its second season. Shahi did not renew her contract with the series for the fourth season, and consequently her character was written out. She makes a guest appearance on the last episode of the series.

She also played the role of Farah in the second season of Sleeper Cell. She also appeared in HBO's The Sopranos, 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.

She costarred in the NBC series Life along with British actor Damien Lewis as detective Charlie Crews. Shahi played homicide detective Dani Reese.

Personal life

Shahi speaks English, Persian, and some Spanish. She lived with her mother after her parents divorced, and has a brown belt in karate.

Shahi was married to actor Steve Howey. The couple got engaged in June 2007 and married in February 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada. They welcomed their first child, a son, William Wolf Shahi-Howey, who was born on July 9, 2009, weighing 8lbs, 9 oz.

Filmography

• Dr. T and the Women (2000) as an uncredited cheerleader
• City Guys: "Shock Treatment" (2000-11-04) as Cheerleader
• Spin City: "Blind Faith" (2000-11-15) as Bachelorette
• Boston Public: "Chapter Eleven" (2001-01-22) as Laura
• Off Centre: "A Cute Triangle" (2001-11-18) as Angelica
• Maybe It's Me: "The Exchange-Student" (2001-12-07) as Rosa
• Alias (2001–2002, seven episodes) as Jenny, a budding journalist.
• Class of '06 (2002, undeveloped pilot) as Meg
• Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) as Becky, a Delta-Nu sister
• Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central): "Chinese Baby" (2002-06-05) as TV Diva
• Frasier: "Door Jam" (2003-01-07) as Reservationist
• Old School (2003) as Erica
• Dawson's Creek (2003, four episodes) as Sadia Shaw, a journalist.
• ER: "The Greater Good" (2003-11-06) as Tara King
• Reba: "To Tell You the Truth" (2004-01-23) as Kate
• Century City: "Sweet Child of Mine" (2004-04-06) as Ms. Morris
• A Lot Like Love (2005) as Starlet
• Plan B (2005, undeveloped pilot) as Bronwyn
• Supernatural: "Pilot" (2005-09-13) as The Woman in White/Constance Welsh
• The L Word (2005–2007) as Carmen de la Pica Morales
• Teachers (2006, six episodes) as Tina
• Damages (2006, undeveloped pilot) as Jennifer Carillo
• The Dog Problem (2006) as Candy
• For Your Consideration (2006) as Wake Up Host
• Sleeper Cell (2006) as Farah
• Reba: "Cheyenne's Rival" (2007-01-28) as Bridget
• The Sopranos: "Kennedy and Heidi" (2007-05-13) as Sonya Aragon
• Life (2007—2009) as Dani Reese
• AmericanEast (2007) as Salwah Marzoke
• Shades of Ray (2007) as Sana Khaliq
• The Adventures of Beatle Boyin (2007) as Carla
• Rush Hour 3 (2007) as Zoe (uncredited)
• "The L Word" (2009) as Carmen de la Pica Morales
• Crossing Over (2009) as Pooneh Baraheri

External links

• Sarah Shahi Today's Girl - Maxim.com
• The LWord Online Biography
• History of Iran: Qajar Dynasty
• Don't Quote Me: Kate Moennig and Sarah Shahi on The L Word
• Everyone Loves A Latin Girl (in French)
• Everyone Loves a Latin Girl (in English)
• Iran News: Artistic Moments of Iranian-American Actress Sarah Shahi