Azita Ghanizada

Azita Ghanizada
Born Azita Ghanizada
(1979-11-17) November 17, 1979
Kabul, Afghanistan
Occupation Actress
Years active 2004–present

Azita Ghanizada (pronounced "Ghani-za-da";[1] born November 17,[2] 1979)[3] is an American actress in the United States who has appeared in a number of television series.

Life and career

Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, her family fled her birth country when she was still a baby in the wake of the Soviet war in Afghanistan.[4][5] They travelled to the United States and were granted asylum as political refugees.[6] Raised in a multi-cultural conservative family, she has two sisters; her parents separated when she was in middle school.[4] Ghanizada is a graduate of James Madison High School in Vienna, Virginia[3] and has a degree in English and Communications from Virginia Tech.[5][7]

Ghanizada learned to speak English from watching American television; that combined with the family's regular trips to a local cinema that showed Bollywood movies, and her mother's passionate love of Indian and American film stars, inspired her to become an actress.[8] She relocated to Los Angeles and began her on-camera career by working in television commercials and guest starring on popular television shows. Her multi-ethnic appearance has enabled her to play Indian, Arabic, Iranian, Mediterranean and the All-American girl next door.[8] In the Laura Neri film A Kiss on the Nose, Ghanizada played the lead role of Chiara, a performance for which she received a film festival best actress nomination. A few of her notable television guest-starring roles include How I Met Your Mother, Entourage, Veronica Mars, The Mentalist , Bones, Psych, Ghost Whisperer, Castle, and Up All Night.

In 2008, Ghanizada joined the cast of the General Hospital prime-time spin-off General Hospital: Night Shift for season 2 as Dr. Saira Batra, a specialist in holistic medicine.[3] In 2009, Ghanizada played Kelly, a Prada sales girl on HBO's Entourage (season 6, episode 2) and joined the cast of the television pilot Tough Trade starring Sam Shepard and Cary Elwes, from Weeds creator Jenji Kohan, and executive producer T Bone Burnett. In 2010, she joined David Strathairn as a primary cast member of the American Syfy Channel series Alphas where she played Rachel Pirzad, a woman with enhanced sensory abilities.[4] "Alphas" was picked up to series in 2011, but only lasted two seasons. In 2014, she filmed the comedy pilot "Ellen More or Less" for NBC directed by Peyton Reed.

The Hollywood Reporter announced in 2015[9] that the actress would be filming the "The Untitled Joshua Marston" feature opposite Michael Shannon and Rachel Weisz.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2004 Kiss on the Nose, AA Kiss on the Nose Chiara Short film
2007 X's & O's Anita
2009 Why Men Go Gay in L.A.
2010 You, Only Better... Kali Parker
2011 Blood Shot Zahra
2016 Untitled Joshua Marston Project Ramina
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2005 Closer, TheThe Closer Neighbor Episode: "Batter Up"
2006 Numb3rs Prita Episode: "Harvest"
2007 Bones Girlfriend Episode: "The Man in the Mansion"
2007 Wedding Bells, TheThe Wedding Bells Jody Episode: "Wedding from Hell"
2007 Veronica Mars Amira Krimani Episode: "Un-American Graffiti"
2008 General Hospital: Night Shift Dr. Saira Batra 14 episodes
2009 How I Met Your Mother Sexy Female Cop Episode: "As Fast as She Can"
2009 Entourage Kelly Episode: "Amongst Friends"
2009 Psych Mina Episode: "Bollywood Homicide"
2009 Ghost Whisperer Charee Episode: "Devil's Bargain"
2010 Tough Trade Sabina TV movie
2010 Castle Mistress Sapphire Episode: "The Mistress Always Spanks Twice"
2010 NCIS: Los Angeles Rochelle Stanton Episode: "Disorder"
2011 Friends with Benefits Tasi Episode: "The Benefit of Full Disclosure"
2011–2012 Alphas Rachel Pirzad Main role
2012 Body of Proof Annabelle Kip Episode: "Cold Blooded"
2012 Up All Night Natasha Episode: "The Game of Life"
2013 The Mentalist Defiance Episode: "Green Thumb"
2014 Major Crimes Angela Soames Episode: "Frozen Assets"
2014 Ellen More or Less Lucy Episode: "Pilot"

References

  1. Lane, Laura (2011). "Esquire + Me in My Place: Azita Ghanizada". esquire.com. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  2. Unknown. "Status Update". Alpha Media. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved Aug 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 Krystal, Becky (2008-10-05). "At This 'Hospital,' Virginia Doctors Are In". The Washington Post (Washington DC: WPC). ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 26 July 2011. Ghanizada, 29
  4. 1 2 3 Radish, Christina (2011-07-08). "Azita Ghanizada Interview ALPHAS". collider.com. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Actress has traveled from Afghanistan to 'Alphas'". greatfallstribune.com. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  6. Stout, Chris (2011-03-01). "Azita Ghanizada Interview". manjr.com. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  7. "Cast Biographies for Alphas: Azita Ghanizada". syfy.com. 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  8. 1 2 Grundey, Adam (2011-05-01). "Azita Ghanizada’s Rise to Alpha Female". rollingstoneme.com. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  9. Kit, Borys (2015-12-03). "Alpha's Star Join Rachel Weisz in Josh Marston Drama". thehollywoodreporter.com.

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, March 14, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.