Gifted Young Iranian Actress Creates a Buzz in Hollywood by Mariella Hosseini

Nazanin Boniadi has been dubbed the "Persian Audrey Hepburn" by Hollywood insiders. Perhaps it is her elegance and poise combined with a lightness of spirit that has earned her such a title. "It is an honor to be likened to my all-time favorite actress. She is a legend and her work will inspire generations of actors to come" Nazanin has responded.

Nazanin was born in Tehran, Iran. Her parents moved to London shortly after, where she was raised with an emphasis on morality, integrity and education.

Fluent in both Farsi and English, Nazanin graduated top of her class from a prestigious private high school in London, England. She went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree, with Honors, in Biological Sciences from the University of California Irvine.

Adept at multi-tasking, Nazanin never lost focus of helping her community while growing intellectually. Her molecular research into finding a cure for cancer and heart transplant rejection won her the competitive Chang Pin-Chun Undergraduate Research Award. Nazanin demonstrated her leadership abilities as Assistant Editor-in-Chief of MedTimes, UCI's undergradute medical newspaper, and as Head Coordinator of the Biology of Cancer class on campus. Nazanin is also a published writer in the filed of human and civil rights.

However, Nazanin's abilities do not merely stop here. She is skilled at ice skating, certified in CPR and excellent at playing piano.

Nazanin's passion for the performing arts started at the age of ten when she received a merit from the Royal College of Music in London for playing the violin. Other artistic achievements include a certificate in ballet from the acclaimed Vaccani School of Dance in London, and winning the British Yamaha Electone Festival for playing the electric organ.

After appearing as the lead in numerous high school productions such as The Boyfriend, Joseph & the Amazing Techinicolor Dreamcoat and Westside Story, Nazanin earned her first TV credit hosting Early Bird , a popular children's TV show in the U.K.

New to Hollywood, Nazanin is quickly proving herself as a versatile talent and has already appeared in numerous independent projects, including The Snitch by director Ming Lo and the feature film Gameface by director James Rhodimer. Her face has become instantly recognizable in Persian communities worldwide due to her recent appearance in Afshin's popular music video, Bikhial .

Nazanin is sure to make quite a splash in the film festival circuit this year, with three projects up for consideration. Director Freya Parekh of USC Film School who recently worked with Nazanin in the short drama Kal: Yesterday & Tomorrow stated "Passion is emitted from Nazanin in her every move and it shows on-screen. She is knowledageble, inquisitive and a flawless beauty. She is by far one of the best actresses I have worked with in the past four years and one of the most promising up-coming actresses in the industry."