Sarah Shahi
Encyclopedia
Aahoo Jahansouz "Sarah" Shahi (born January 10, 1980) is an American actress and a former NFL Cheerleader
. She is probably best known for starring in The L Word
as Carmen de la Pica Morales and in Life as Detective Dani Reese. In 2011 she began playing the role of Kate Reed in the legal drama Fairly Legal on the USA Network
.
. She has an Iranian father, Abbas Shahi, and an Iranian mother, known as Mahmonir, who was an interior designer. Sarah's family was forced to leave their homeland two years before the political and social unrest caused by the Islamic Revolution. Her birthname, Aahoo, means "deer" in Persian
.
Shahi adopted Sarah as her name in second grade after hearing the song "Sarah
" because she was "tormented" by other children, but grew up speaking Farsi as well as English at her father's insistence. Shahi's parents began entering her in beauty pageants at the age of eight. Her parents divorced when she was 10. Shahi attended Trinity High School
, where she was captain of the volleyball and basketball teams, and Dallas' Southern Methodist University
, majoring in English and Theater. Shahi won the Miss Fort Worth USA pageant in 1997; hoping to become an actress, she joined the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
1999–2000 squad despite not having cheered before, and appeared on the cover of the squad's 2000 calendar before moving to Los Angeles.
, who encouraged her to move to Hollywood
, where she received roles in several series, including Alias
, Dawson's Creek
, Reba
, and Supernatural
. She may be best known for her role as DJ Carmen de la Pica Morales on 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 also played Farah in the second season of Sleeper Cell
, and also appeared in HBO's The Sopranos
, in the Season 6b episode "Kennedy and Heidi
".
She co-starred in the short-lived NBC series Life as homicide detective Dani Reese.
In October 2009, Shahi landed the lead role in the USA Network
pilot, Facing Kate. Shahi began filming in November 2009. The show follows 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.
on February 7, 2009, in Las Vegas. On July 8, 2009, Shahi gave birth to their first child, son William Wolf Howey. Shahi gave birth during an at-home water birth.
Shahi was named no. 90 on the Maxim magazine
"Hot 100 of 2005" list; she moved up to no. 66 in 2006. She ranked no. 5 on the AfterEllen.com
hot list in 2007.
National Football League Cheerleading
National Football League Cheerleading, or simply NFL Cheerleading, is a professional cheerleading league in the United States. Twenty six of the 32 NFL teams include a cheerleading squad in their franchise. Cheerleaders are a popular attraction that can give a team more coverage/airtime, popular...
. She is probably best known for starring in The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
as Carmen de la Pica Morales and in Life as Detective Dani Reese. In 2011 she began playing the role of Kate Reed in the legal drama Fairly Legal on the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
.
Early life
Sarah Shahi was born and grew up in Euless, TexasEuless, Texas
Euless, known as "Tree City USA," is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. Euless is part of the Mid-Cities between Dallas and Fort Worth...
. She has an Iranian father, Abbas Shahi, and an Iranian mother, known as Mahmonir, who was an interior designer. Sarah's family was forced to leave their homeland two years before the political and social unrest caused by the Islamic Revolution. Her birthname, Aahoo, means "deer" in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
.
Shahi adopted Sarah as her name in second grade after hearing the song "Sarah
Sarah (Thin Lizzy song)
Sarah is a pop song released in 1979 by Irish rock group Thin Lizzy, included on their album, Black Rose: A Rock Legend. The song was written by the band's frontman Phil Lynott and guitarist Gary Moore about Lynott's newborn daughter...
" because she was "tormented" by other children, but grew up speaking Farsi as well as English at her father's insistence. Shahi's parents began entering her in beauty pageants at the age of eight. Her parents divorced when she was 10. Shahi attended Trinity High School
Trinity High School (Euless, Texas)
Trinity High School is a public high school in Euless, Texas. It administers grade levels 10–12 and is a part of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District....
, where she was captain of the volleyball and basketball teams, and Dallas' Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
, majoring in English and Theater. Shahi won the Miss Fort Worth USA pageant in 1997; hoping to become an actress, she joined the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys.- 1960s :The original cheerleading squad was a made up of a male-female group called the CowBelles & Beaux. The group made its sidelines debut in 1960 during the Cowboys' inaugural...
1999–2000 squad despite not having cheered before, and appeared on the cover of the squad's 2000 calendar before moving to Los Angeles.
Acting career
While working as an extra on the set of Dr. T and the Women in Texas, Shahi met director Robert AltmanRobert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
, who encouraged her to move to Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
, where she received roles in several series, including Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
, Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
, Reba
Reba (TV series)
Reba is an American sitcom starring Reba McEntire, which ran from 2001 to 2007. For the show's first five seasons, it ran on The WB, with the show transitioning to The CW in its last year.-Synopsis:...
, and Supernatural
Supernatural (TV series)
Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
. She may be best known for her role as DJ Carmen de la Pica Morales on The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
, 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 also played Farah in the second season of Sleeper Cell
Sleeper Cell (TV series)
Sleeper Cell is a one-hour drama on the Showtime network that began airing on December 4, 2005. The tagline for the first season was "Friends. Neighbors. Husbands. Terrorists." and the tagline for the second season was "Cities. Suburbs. Airports. Targets." The series was nominated for an Emmy award...
, and also appeared in HBO's The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, in the Season 6b episode "Kennedy and Heidi
Kennedy and Heidi
"Kennedy and Heidi" is the eighteenth episode of the two-part sixth season—the sixth episode of the second part—of the HBO television drama series The Sopranos and the show's eighty-third overall episode. It was written by Matthew Weiner and series creator and showrunner David Chase,...
".
She co-starred in the short-lived NBC series Life as homicide detective Dani Reese.
In October 2009, Shahi landed the lead role in the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
pilot, Facing Kate. Shahi began filming in November 2009. The show follows 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.
Personal life
Shahi married actor Steve HoweySteve Howey (actor)
Steven Michael Robert "Steve" Howey is an American film and television actor, best known for his role as Van Montgomery in the television series Reba. His roles also include the films Supercross, DOA: Dead or Alive, and Bride Wars...
on February 7, 2009, in Las Vegas. On July 8, 2009, Shahi gave birth to their first child, son William Wolf Howey. Shahi gave birth during an at-home water birth.
Shahi was named no. 90 on the Maxim magazine
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
"Hot 100 of 2005" list; she moved up to no. 66 in 2006. She ranked no. 5 on the AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen.com, founded in April 2002, is a website that focuses on the portrayal of lesbian and bisexual women in the media. AfterElton.com, its brother site for gay and bisexual men, was launched in January 2005. The websites were founded by Sarah Warn, who initially served as the editor in...
hot list in 2007.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Dr. T and the Women | Cheerleader | Uncredited |
| 2003 | Old School Old School (film) Old School is a 2003 American comedy film released by DreamWorks SKG and directed by Todd Phillips, director of the documentary Frat House. The story was written by Court Crandall, and the film was written by Phillips and Scot Armstrong... |
Erica | |
| 2003 | Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde | Becky, Delta Nu sister | Uncredited |
| 2005 | Starlet | ||
| 2006 | For Your Consideration For Your Consideration (film) For Your Consideration is a 2006 comedy film directed by Christopher Guest. It was co-written by Guest and Eugene Levy, both also starring in the film.... |
Sanchez | |
| 2006 | Candy | ||
| 2007 | Rush Hour 3 Rush Hour 3 Rush Hour 3 is a 2007 martial arts/action-comedy film, and the third installment in the Rush Hour film series, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, that began with the 1998 film Rush Hour and continued with the first sequel Rush Hour 2 in 2001. The film was officially announced on May 7, 2006,... |
Zoe | Uncredited |
| 2008 | Shades of Ray Shades of Ray Shades of Ray is a 2008 independent film written and directed by Jaffar Mahmood. The film stars Zachary Levi as a half-white, half-Pakistani man wrestling with his mixed identity while waiting for his white girlfriend to respond to his marriage proposal... |
Sana Khaliq | |
| 2008 | AmericanEast AmericanEast AmericanEast is a 2007 American drama film about Arab-Americans living in Post-9/11 Los Angeles. The story examines long-held misunderstandings about Arabic and Islamic culture, and puts a human face on a segment of the U.S. population whom most Americans know nothing about, but who today are of... |
Salwah | |
| 2009 | Crossing Over Crossing Over (film) Crossing Over is a 2009 American independent drama film about illegal immigrants of different nationalities struggling to achieve legal status in Los Angeles. The film deals with the border, document fraud, the asylum and green card process, work-site enforcement, naturalization, the office of... |
Pooneh Baraheri | |
| 2011 | East Fifth Bliss | Hattie Skunk / Hattie Rockworth | Post-production Post-production Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art... |
| 2011 | I Don't Know How She Does It I Don't Know How She Does It I Don't Know How She Does It is a 2011 American comedy film based on Allison Pearson's novel of the same name. The film stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, and Greg Kinnear about Kate Reddy, a financial executive and the breadwinner of her family.... |
Janine LoPietro | Post-production Post-production Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art... |
| 2012 | Static Static Static has several meanings:* Static electricity, a net charge of an object** The triboelectric effect, e.g. from shoes rubbing carpet* White noise, a random signal with a flat power spectral density** Noise , a type of radio interference... |
Adele Dade | Post-production Post-production Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art... |
| 2012 | Bullet to the Head | Sheyla | Filming |
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | City Guys City Guys City Guys is a United States television sitcom that aired from 1997 to December 2001. It lasted five seasons, and ended its airing time around the dissolution of TNBC.-Premise:... |
Cheerleader | Episode: "Shock Treatment" |
| 2000 | Spin City Spin City Spin City is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 until April 30, 2002 on the ABC network. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, and originally starred Michael J. Fox as Mike... |
Bachelorette | Episode: "Blind Faith" |
| 2001 | Boston Public Boston Public Boston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place... |
Laura | Episode: "Chapter Eleven" |
| 2001 | Off Centre Off Centre Off Centre is an American sitcom that aired on The WB network from October 14, 2001 to October 31, 2002. Created by Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, and Danny Zuker, the series was heavily promoted as "from the guys who brought you American Pie".-Synopsis:... |
Angelica | Episode: "A Cute Triangle" |
| 2001 | Maybe It's Me Maybe It's Me (TV series) Maybe It's Me is an American television comedy series that aired on The WB Network. It first aired on October 5, 2001 and ended on May 3, 2002... |
Rosa | Episode: "The Exchange-Student Episode" |
| 2001–2002 | Alias Alias (TV series) Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006... |
Jenny | Episodes: "So It Begins", "A Broken Heart", "Reckoning", "Color Blind", "Spirit", "The Box: Part 1", and "Page 47" |
| 2002 | Class of ‘06 | Meg | Television film |
| 2002 | My Adventures in Television | TV Diva | Episode: "The Chinese Baby" |
| 2003 | Frasier Frasier Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars... |
Reservationist | Episode: "Door Jam" |
| 2003 | Dawson's Creek Dawson's Creek Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons... |
Sadie Shaw / Mystery Girl | Episodes: "Catch-22", "Sex and Violence", and "All the Right Moves" |
| 2003 | ER ER (TV series) ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television... |
Tara King | Episode: "The Greater Good" |
| 2004 | Century City | Ms. Morris | Episode: "Sweet Child of Mine" |
| 2004–2007 | Reba Reba (TV series) Reba is an American sitcom starring Reba McEntire, which ran from 2001 to 2007. For the show's first five seasons, it ran on The WB, with the show transitioning to The CW in its last year.-Synopsis:... |
Bridget / Kate | Episodes: "Cheyenne‘s Rival" and "To Tell You the Truth" |
| 2005 | Plan B | Bronwyn | Television film |
| 2005 | Supernatural Supernatural (TV series) Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they... |
Constance Welch / The Woman in White | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2005–2009 | Carmen de la Pica Morales | Main character | |
| 2005 | Herself | Episode: "2.49" | |
| 2006 | Teachers | Tina Torres | |
| 2006 | Sleeper Cell Sleeper Cell (TV series) Sleeper Cell is a one-hour drama on the Showtime network that began airing on December 4, 2005. The tagline for the first season was "Friends. Neighbors. Husbands. Terrorists." and the tagline for the second season was "Cities. Suburbs. Airports. Targets." The series was nominated for an Emmy award... |
Farrah | Episodes: "Faith" and "Torture" |
| 2007 | Sonya Aragon | Episode: "Kennedy and Heidi" | |
| 2007–2009 | Life | Dani Reese | Main character |
| 2010 | Psych Psych Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts... |
Ruby | Episode: "Thrill Seekers and Hell Raisers" |
| 2011-present | Fairly Legal | Kate Reed | Main character |
| 2011 | Young Justice Young Justice (TV series) Young Justice is an American animated television series created by Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti for Cartoon Network. Despite its title, it is not an adaptation of Todd Dezago and Todd Nauck's Young Justice comic series, but rather an adaptation of the entire DC Universe with a focus on young... |
Killer Frost Killer Frost Killer Frost is the name of two fictional characters in the DC Comics universe. They are both supervillains that appear mainly as foes of the superhero Firestorm.-Crystal Frost:... |
Episode: "Terrors" |