Biography

Azita Ghanizada

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Azita Ghanizada is a political refugee turned Hollywood trailblazer whose firsts span over a decade, from becoming the first Afghan woman as a series lead on U.S. television in Syfy's Alphas (2012), to a Sundance-recognized breakout in Complete Unknown (2016), to becoming the first Afghan woman on Broadway in The Kite Runner (2022). She has built a career holding her own opposite Academy Award winners including Mahershala Ali, Rachel Weisz, and Casey Affleck, with a television resume spanning CBS's United States of Al, HBO's Entourage and Ballers, and Freeform's Good Trouble. She most recently starred as Rosalyn Noori in the highly anticipated Suits LA spin-off, and will next appear opposite William Fichtner, JD Pardo, and Cameron Monaghan in MGM+'s Bosch prequel, Start of Watch.

Offscreen, Ghanizada is a builder of institutions: after successfully lobbying SAG-AFTRA to add its first new diversity hiring category in 37 years, she founded the MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition. A TED speaker and Global Ambassador for Women for Women International, she has become a defining voice for Afghan artists and women redefining industries that were never built with them in mind.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous

Azita's mother is fluent in Dari, Pashto, Urdu, Punjabi, and Hindi; Azita herself is fluent in English and Dari/Farsi and has worked speaking some Arabic, Hindi, and Pashto.
Her family was granted political asylum to remain in the United States from Afghanistan.
Her mother spent much of her young life in Amritsar, India and was heavily influenced by Indian cinema and Indian film stars.
She worked on Capitol Hill in high school, and before she moved to Los Angeles she considered careers in both politics and international journalism.
In 2017, she successfully lobbied to add MENA, Middle Eastern North African or MENASA, Middle Eastern North African, South Asian to the SAG-AFTRA/AMPTP theatrical contracts.

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