Sepideh Moafi

Sepideh Moafi (; born September 1985) is an Iranian-American actress. She is best known for her roles in The Deuce (2017–2019), The L Word: Generation Q (2019–2023), The Killing of Two Lovers, Black Bird (2022), and The Pitt (2026). For the latter, she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Early life and education Sepideh Moafi was born in September 1985 in a refugee camp in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. Prior to her birth, her parents had fled Iran following the Islamic Revolution. After two years in Turkey and then Germany, where Moafi's parents sought political asylum and claimed refugee status, Moafi's family were granted visas to move to the United States.

During her childhood years, she studied opera and was later pulled into musical theatre and jazz.

Moafi attended the University of California Irvine to study acting, later graduating with an MFA in 2013.

Career In 2013, Moafi received her first on-screen credit in a guest-starring role as Aaliya Zaki in the tenth episode of season four of CBS's Blue Bloods.

In 2015, Moafi landed what would be her breakout role, a recurring role as Loretta in HBO's The Deuce, an American drama television series created by David Simon and George Pelecanos exploring the stories of sex workers in 1970s-80s New York. Before filming the pilot, Simon met Moafi for a coffee date, where they discussed the premise of The Deuce and Loretta's arc within the show. While her character on The Deuce had been planned early on, Moafi subsequently landed a lead role in Notorious (a show which was to be filmed in Los Angeles) after meeting with Simon and before the pilot of The Deuce was filmed. Moafi wrote a letter to the executive producers of The Deuce, Simon, Pelecanos and Nina Kostroff Noble hoping that they would still let her be a part of The Deuce despite her regular gig on Notorious. The executive producers on The Deuce let Moafi continue to be a part of their show and worked around her schedule as The Deuce was mainly filmed in New York. However, as a result, Loretta's arc could not be fulfilled as initially planned and had to go a different direction because of Moafi's scheduling conflicts The pilot of The Deuce was shot in 2015 The show is based on real-life criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos and Larry King Live news producer Wendy Walker. Moafi's character is a junior producer and booker on the fictional number one cable news show Louise Herrick Live and her character is considered to be the number-two to Julia George, played by Piper Perabo. While the show originally landed a 13-episode first season, ABC cut the first season to 10 episodes and the show was cancelled by ABC after one season.

After Notorious was cancelled, Moafi continued to appear in her recurring role as Loretta on The Deuce, and her character was made a series regular in season 3, the final season. Moafi's character on The Deuce was initially a sex-worker working on the streets of New York and later became an anti-pornography activist, which was one of the main reasons Moafi wanted to continue to be a part of The Deuce despite her scheduling conflicts.

While shooting the second season of The Deuce, Moafi starred in the role of Dahna in a musical off-Broadway One Thousand Nights and One Day which opened on April 15, 2018. Moafi has stated that her career "started out in opera and then theater" and considers opera to "forever be a part of [her] artistic identity".

In 2018, Moafi was cast as a series regular on and starred as Alexis Simms in season 2 of Falling Water. Season 2 of Falling Water premiered in January 2018. Moafi's character was introduced as the new partner of NYPD detective Taka (played by Will Yun Lee) who later discovers the supernatural world in the show. In May 2018, USA Network announced the series' cancellation after its second season.

In 2019, Moafi was cast as Gigi Ghorbani on Showtime's The L Word: Generation Q, a sequel of the early 2000s lesbian classic The L Word. Generation Q premiered on December 8, 2019. At the beginning of season 1 of Generation Q, Moafi's character was introduced as the ex-wife of Natalie "Nat" Bailey (played by Stephanie Allynne) who is currently dating Alice Pieszecki (played by Leisha Hailey), a character that originated in The L Word. Her character was well received by fans and quickly became a fan-favorite among the new cast. The film tells the separation between the parents of four children in which Moafi plays Niki, the wife of Clayne Crawford's David.

In April 2021, Moafi was cast in the Apple TV+ American crime drama limited series Black Bird. Produced by Dennis Lehane, Moafi stars alongside Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser and Greg Kinnear. Production for the series began in New Orleans in April 2021 and is based on the novel In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene. Moafi plays FBI agent Lauren McCauley in the true crime drama, an FBI agent who approaches protagonist Jimmy Keene about the Larry Hall operation. Moafi attended the premiere event on Wednesday June 29, 2022, at the Regency Bruin Theater in Los Angeles, California . The six-episode limited series premiered globally on July 8, 2022, on Apple TV+.

In November 2021, Moafi was cast as "Hour" in the FX limited series Class of '09 alongside Brian J. Smith, Jake McDorman, Brooke Smith, joining previously announced leads Brian Tyree Henry and Kate Mara. The eight-part series produced by FX Productions revolves around a group of FBI agents who graduated from Quantico in 2009 and are reunited following the death of a mutual friend. The series is executive produced by Tom Rob Smith, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. Class of '09 premiered on May 10, 2023 on FX on Hulu.

In May 2026, Moafi starred alongside Hugh Jackman and Marianna Gailus in the Off-Broadway drama, New Born, at The Audible Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City.

In July 2026, Moafi became the first Iranian woman and the first woman from the Middle East to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series; her nomination was for her role in The Pitt.

Personal life In 2019, Moafi penned a first person essay sharing her experience as a refugee. . Moafi hosted a program titled Belonging: From Refugee to Hollywood as part of the Summer Salon series in February 2021.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2010 Violet Is Single Violet Short film 2014 Best Man in the Dark Tereza Lopez 2017 Quest: The Truth Always Rises Susan 2018 The Arrangements Short film 2020 The Killing of Two Lovers Nikki 2023 I'll Be Right There Sophie Wild Berries

Television Year Title Role Notes 2013 Blue Bloods Aaliya Zaki Episode: "Mistaken Identity" 2014 Unforgettable Lisa Martinez Episode: "Manhunt" Nurse Jackie Mrs. Harrison Episode: "Love Jungle" Black Box Dr. Farrah Mahmoud Recurring role; 8 episodes The Good Wife Sylmar Knausgaard Episode: "Old Spice" Red Zone Frida Moussaf Television film2015 Forever Melanie Sparo Episode: "The Wolves of Deep Brooklyn" The Blacklist Mary Henning Episode: "The Deer Hunter (no. 93)" Limitless Dr. Pauline Wilson Episode: "Side Effects May Include..."2016 Elementary Sofia Darrow Episode: "All In" Notorious Megan Byrd Main role; 10 episodes 2017–2019 The Deuce Loretta Recurring role (seasons 1–2), Main role (season 3); 18 episodes 2019–2023 The L Word: Generation Q Gigi Ghorbani Main role; 28 episodes 2022 Black Bird Lauren McCauley Miniseries; 5 episodes 2023 Class of '09 Hour Nazari Miniseries; 8 episodes

Awards and honors YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.2026Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama SeriesThe Pitt