Narges Rashidi (Persian: نرگس رشیدی; born 1980) is an American-German actress of Iranian descent. She is known for her starring role in the 2016 film Under the Shadow by Babak Anvari, and as British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe the 2025 BBC fact-based drama miniseries Prisoner 951.
Narges Rashidi | |
|---|---|
 Rashidi in February 2016 | |
| Born | Narges Rashidi 1980 (age 45–46) Khorramabad, Iran |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Spouse | Christian Straka |
Early life
editNarges Rashidi was born in 1980[1] in Khorramabad, Iran.[2] Her father was an army colonel and her mother is a housewife.[1] She lived in Tehran at the time of the Iran–Iraq War.[2][3]
Rashidi moved with her family to Turkey and then Germany when she was seven.[2] She grew up in Bad Hersfeld in Germany.[4] She was introduced to acting by the summer theatre festivals in the town.[5]
Career
editRashidi has appeared in many independent films and television productions,[3] starting with the experimental film Venussian Tabutasco by Daryush Shokof in 2004.
Rashidi received international recognition and widespread acclaim for her starring role in the 2016 film Under the Shadow by Babak Anvari, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Variety cited her as "a favorite breakthrough performance" at Sundance. The magazine hailed her "intense yet fine-grained work... as a fiercely intelligent, progressive-minded Iranian woman infuriated by the direction of her country since the Islamic Revolution," noting, "Rashidi plays her character like a musical instrument going slowly out of tune; it's a performance rich in both motherly love and scream-queen abandon."[6]
Rashidi plays Lale in the 2020 British TV series Gangs of London.[7]
Rashidi was cast in the 2025 BBC fact-based drama miniseries Prisoner 951 as British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained in Iran for six years. Joseph Fiennes played her husband, Richard Ratcliffe.[8][9]
Personal life
editFilmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Venussian Tabutasco | ||
| 2005 | Aeon Flux | Pregnant Woman | |
| 2006 | Asudem | Girl | |
| A2Z | |||
| Black Sheep | Leo's Girlfriend | ||
| 2007 | Breathful | Fuss | |
| 2008 | Speed Racer | Persian Announcer | |
| 2009 | Meeting Laura | Narges | Short film |
| Must Love Death | Isabel | ||
| 2010 | NOS (auf dich) | Vina | Short film |
| 2011 | Dating Lanzelot | Zibaa | |
| My Prince. My King | Fatima | ||
| 2012 | Slave | Nurse | |
| 2013 | Kokowääh 2 | Verkäuferin | |
| 2015 | Von glücklichen Schafen | Elmas / mother | |
| 2016 | Under the Shadow | Shideh | |
| 2017 | Tigermilch | Noura Bashir | |
| 2019 | The Manchador | Mina | Short film |
| 2025 | Havoc | Helena Walker | |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Die Geschichte Mitteldeutschlands | Orientalische Frau des Grafen von Gleichen | Episode: "Ehe zu dritt - Die Frauen des Grafen von Gleichen" |
| 2007 | KDD – Kriminaldauerdienst | Nuran | Episode: "Fragen der Ehre" |
| 2008 | Schimanski | Laura | Episode: "Schicht im Schacht" |
| 2009 | Engel sucht Liebe | Ayse | TV movie |
| 2012 | Ein Fall für zwei | Ayshe | Episode: "Mord im Callcenter" |
| Geisterfahrer | Faiza | TV movie | |
| 2013 | Nachtschicht | Dalida Abdullah | Episode: "Geld regiert die Welt" |
| 2014–2015 | Löwenzahn | Banu | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | Sibel & Max | Elif | Episode: "Schief gewickelt" |
| Too Young to Die | Dalida Medjoub | TV movie | |
| 2016–2018 | Never Too Late For Justice | Samira Vaziri | 22 episodes |
| 2017 | The Girlfriend Experience | Darya Esford | 5 episodes |
| Reich oder tot | Dalida Medjoub | TV movie | |
| 2019 | Anatomy of Evil | Leila Nymann | Episode: "Sehnsucht" |
| Hanna | Sima | 2 episodes | |
| 2020–present | Gangs of London | Lale | 20 episodes |
| 2025 | Prisoner 951 | Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe | BBC One miniseries[10] |
Awards
edit| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | New York Independent International Film & Video Festival | Best Breakthrough Actress | A2Z | Won | [11] |
| 2026 | Royal Television Society Programme Awards | Best Actress | Prisoner 951 | Won | [12] |
| British Academy Television Awards | Best Actress | Won | [13] |
References
edit- 1 2 3 Sommer, Ariane (23 March 2015). "Keine Lust auf "Migrationshintergrund"" [No desire for "migration background"]. Die Welt (in German). Archived from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 Seymour, Tom (29 September 2016). "Terror in Tehran: Under the Shadow and the politics of horror". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- 1 2 Laing, Sarah (20 January 2017). "Going to a dark place with rising star Narges Rashidi". ELLE Canada. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- 1 2 Brown, Emma (13 October 2016). "Narges Rashidi". Interview Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ↑ "German summer festivals led Narges Rashidi into acting". USA Today. 14 November 2016. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ↑ Variety Staff (30 January 2016). "Sundance: 19 Biggest Breakthrough Performances". Variety. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ↑ Hadadi, Roxana (1 December 2022). "Gangs of London Won't Hold Anything Back". Vulture. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ↑ Bamigboye, Baz (25 June 2024). "Breaking Baz: Narges Rashidi & Joseph Fiennes Cast In Under-Wraps BBC Drama About Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's Six-Year Iranian Prison Ordeal & Husband's Tireless Campaign To Free Her". Deadline. Archived from the original on 28 June 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ↑ Pickard, Michael (1 October 2025). "BBC releases Prisoner 951 first look". Drama Quaterley.
- ↑ Sayce, Rebecca (2 October 2025). "BBC unveils first look at "powerful" new drama and it's based on an "extraordinary true story"". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ↑ "Los Angeles March 2007 Awards". New York Film and Video Festival. 24 April 2007. Archived from the original on 24 April 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ↑ "RTS Programme Awards 2026". Royal Television Society. 24 March 2026. Archived from the original on 6 May 2026. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
- ↑ Richardson, Hollie (10 May 2026). "Bafta TV awards 2026: the full list of winners". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
External links
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