Zar Amir-Ebrahimi

Zahra Amir Ebrahimi (; born 9 July 1981), known professionally as Zar Amir Ebrahimi (, ), is an Iranian and French actress, producer and director. She rose to international prominence for her performance as journalist Arezoo Rahimi in the crime thriller Holy Spider, for which she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and Robert Award for Best Actress.

In 2022, she appeared on BBC's 100 Women list as one of the world's inspiring and influential women of the year.

Early life Zahra Amir Ebrahimi was born on 9 July 1981, in Tehran, Iran. She studied theater in Azad University and started her professional career by making short films.

In 2001, Amir Ebrahimi made her feature film debut alongside Mohammad Ali Keshavarz in Waiting, directed by Mohammad Nourizad. The series later won the Hafez Award for Best Television Series. The same year, Amir Ebrahimi starred in the critically acclaimed drama film Journey to Hidalou, alongside Homayoun Ershadi and Mahmoud Pakniat, directed by Mojtaba Raie.

Months after the final episode of Nargess was broadcast, Amir Ebrahimi became the center of a national scandal when a homemade sex tape purportedly featuring her was leaked online. She was facing a prison sentence and 99 lashes in 2008 when she decided to flee Iran. Due to the scandal, she was banned from appearing in Iranian films and television for 10 years.

2008–2019: Emigration and new projects After Amir Ebrahimi was in danger of being imprisoned, she fled Iran and moved to Paris, France, in 2008. Months before her emigration, she had a small role in Palme d'Or-winning director Abbas Kiarostami's 2008 film Shirin, which premiered at the 65th Venice International Film Festival.

In 2009, she started over her acting career in France with Mohamad Rezaierad's play Silent Taheregan's Dream, alongside Shabnam Tolouei.

In 2018, Amir Ebrahimi worked in four television projects. She did the voice acting of Siri Perse and Ishtar in Arte's animated television series 50 Shades of Greek from 2018 to 2020. She is also a producer and host for the BBC and oversees a cultural program for the Persian branch of BBC World.

Amir Ebrahimi is also a professional photographer, whose work focuses on social topics and issues.

2022: Acclaim and worldwide recognition for Holy Spider Amir Ebrahimi on the red carpet of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival with cast of Holy Spider. Netizens called her a Phoenix, who rose from the ashes of herself after her tape scandal. In 2022, Amir Ebrahimi directed, produced and also hosted in BBC World Service's documentary Portrait of Women in Iranian Cinema. Her performance garnered widespread critical acclaim. Variety's critic, Clayton Davis, said "both lead actors (Amir Ebrahimi and Mehdi Bajestani) are worthy of Academy attention". She won the Best Actress award at the 2022 Seville European Film Festival, and 2023 Robert Awards. Amir Ebrahimi also earned a European Film Award for Best Actress nomination at the 35th European Film Awards and a Bodil Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role nomination for her performance. She also worked as a casting director and associate producer on the film, which was selected as Denmark's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards and made the December shortlist. Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili also threatened to punish Iranians who worked on Holy Spider. Amir Ebrahimi told CNN in June 2022 that she had received around 200 threats since winning the award at Cannes.

In December 2022, Amir Ebrahimi appeared on BBC's 100 Women list as one of the world's inspiring and influential women of the year. The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award for World Cinema Dramatic Competition. After the premiere at Sundance, she received positive reviews for her performance. IndieWire's critic, Susannah Gruder, wrote "Amir Ebrahimi shines in deeply felt Iranian-Australian drama." The Hollywood Reporter's critic, Sheri Linden, wrote "she’s quietly riveting, embodying a refusal to retreat into prescribed roles." Variety's critic, Tomris Laffly, wrote "Amir Ebrahimi delivers a quietly commanding performance as a brave domestic violence survivor who demands a life on her own terms." Screen Daily's critic, Tim Grierson, wrote "Amir Ebrahimi gives a remarkable performance that’s a smart mixture of fiery and openhearted."

From 27 January to 5 February 2023, Amir Ebrahimi served as head of the jury of the Nordic competition at Sweden's Gothenburg Film Festival. She also led a manifestation in support of actress Taraneh Alidoosti and the people of Iran who have been threatened by the government, arrested or sentenced to prison as they protested against the oppressive Iranian regime.

At Gothenburg Film Festival, Amir Ebrahimi announced her upcoming directorial feature film debut in an interview with Variety. The film will be a biopic feature film about her last year in Iran, with the working title Honor of Persia.

Amir Ebrahimi starred in Mehran Tamadon's My Worst Enemy documentary as herself and Steffi Niederzoll's Seven Winters in Tehran documentary as Reyhaneh Jabbari's voice, which both had their world premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival's Encounters section and Perspektive Deutsches Kino section. Seven Winters in Tehran won Compass Perspektive Award and Peace Film Prize at the film festival.

She also worked as casting director on Opponent (2023), directed by Milad Alami, starring Payman Maadi, which also premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival. It was selected as the Swedish entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

She was chosen as one of the guest jury members of the 2023 ANDAM fashion awards, alongside Gigi Hadid and Pat Cleveland.

On 5 May 2023, it was announced that Amir Ebrahimi would have a starring role in the film adaptation of Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, alongside Golshifteh Farahani and Mina Kavani, directed by Eran Riklis. WestEnd is set to launch sales at the 2033 Cannes Film Festival market for both Reading Lolita in Tehran and Tatami.

She was honored with the Breakthrough Artist Award, presented by Cate Blanchett at the Variety + Golden Globes Breakthrough Artists Awards Party at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Amir Ebrahimi presented Koji Yakusho with the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

In June 2023, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sent Amir Ebrahimi an invitation to become a member of The Academy.

In July 2023, it was announced that she will be a member of the jury of the 76th Locarno Film Festival presided by Lambert Wilson between August 2–12. On the closing day of the festival, after the screening of Shayda, Amir Ebrahimi and Noora Niasari had a conversation about Iranian women and Iranian cinema. Shayda was selected as Australian entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 96th Academy Awards on 30 August 2023.

She also starred and co-directed a political thriller film, Tatami with Academy Award-winning director Guy Nattiv which is the first directorial collaboration between an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker. Tatami had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival. She became the first Iranian actress to win the Best Actress award at the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival for Tatami.

In October 2023, It was announced that she would be a member of the jury of the 20th Marrakech International Film Festival, presided by Jessica Chastain, between 24 November and 2 December.

In November 2023, Amir Ebrahimi signed on with major Hollywood agency United Talent Agency.

In 2025, she starred in Alex Burunova's debut feature Satisfaction alongside Fionn Whitehead and Emma Laird, which premiered at the 2025 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival. She also had a starring role in In the Land of Arto which was selected as the opening film of the 78th Locarno Film Festival.

In 2025, she starred and produced Navid Khonsari and Vassiliki Khonsari's "Lili - Prequel", which was a co-production between iNK Stories, Royal Shakespeare Company and Alambic Productions which was the first video game ever in competition at Cannes 2025 . The full project is currently in development and is a neo-noir adaptation of Macbeth set in Iran.

Other activities Politics and activism Amir Ebrahimi has publicly supported the protest led by Iranian women following the death of Mahsa Amini and often shares on her social media the news about the protests and how people can help Iranian people. In January 2026, she joined 800 Hollywood professional, like Golshifteh Farahani and Juliette Binoche signing a statement calling to condemn Iran's government, following the atrocities it committed during the 2025-2026 Iranian protests, against civilians protesting against repression, poverty, discrimination, and structural injustice.

Personal life Sex tape scandal

In 2006, Amir Ebrahimi became the center of an Iranian sex tape scandal when a videotape of a woman, claimed to be Amir Ebrahimi, having sex with a man was leaked to the internet and released on DVD. She subsequently became the subject of an official investigation handled by Tehran's chief prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, who wanted death sentences for those convicted of circulating such videos.

Due to the sex tape scandal, Amir Ebrahimi was banned from appearing in Iranian films and television for 10 years, The man who leaked the tape—a friend of Amir Ebrahimi's and fellow actor who did not feature in it—was sentenced to six years in prison, but was released after two months.

Journey to Hidalou Zahra Heydari Mojtaba Raie

Shirin Woman in audience Abbas Kiarostami

A Souvenir for My Mother Mohammad Reza Kalani Short film Jila Karim Lakzadeh Short film

Bride Price vs. Democracy Vida Irandoost Reza Rahimi

Tehran Taboo Sara Ali Soozandeh Animated film

Adopt a Daddy Farzaneh Rezvani Xavier de Choudens Tomorrow We Are Free Nadia Hossein Pourseifi

Holy Spider Arezoo Rahimi Ali Abbasi Also as associate producer and casting director White Paradise Chehreh Guillaume Renusson

Shayda Shayda Noora Niasari My Worst Enemy Herself Mehran Tamadon Documentary Tatami Maryam Ghanbari Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi Also as casting director Please Rise The Poet Sheida Sheikhha Short film

Silex and the City Monteuse D'étagère (voice) Jean Paul Guigue, Jul Animated film The Vanishing Malika Karim Moussaoui Two People Exchanging Saliva Angine Alexandre Singh, Natalie Musteata Short film Reading Lolita in Tehran Sanaz Eran Riklis

Satisfaction Elena Alex Burunova Also as executive producer In the Land of Arto Arsine Tamara Stepanyan Pieces of a Foreign Life Selma Gaya Jiji Forough: Let Us Believe in the Beginning of the Cold Season Forough Farrokhzad Tina Gharavi Pre-production Honor of Persia Zar Amir Ebrahimi Pre-production Help Me

TV series IRIB TV2 Like a Stranger TV series IRIB TV5

Nargess Zohreh Shokat Sirous Moghaddam TV series IRIB TV3

Great Persians Herself Wesley Eremenko-Dodd TV documentary BBC World Service

Video game Year Title Role Notes 2025LiliLili (Lady Macbeth)

Theatre