Taraneh Alidoosti

Career

After having attended the acting school of Amin Tarokh since 2000, she had a leading role in I'm Taraneh, 15 (Rasul Sadr Ameli, 2002). Critics praised her performance as a 15-year-old girl who after a failed relationship is determined to rear a child on her own while struggling with poverty and disapproval. She won the Bronze Leopard for Best Actress from the Locarno International Film Festival in 2002, as well as the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress from the 20th Fajr Film Festival, becoming the youngest person ever to do so. Shortly after she set another record, getting nominated three consecutive times for the best actress prize at the Fajr Film Festival for her first three films. Since then she has maintained a steady but selective workflow in both theatre and cinema. She was the lead actress for Ashgar Farhadi's Fireworks Wednesday in 2006, which was also screened at the Locarno Film Festival.

Alidoosti is mostly known for her selectiveness in accepting dramatic roles, as exemplified by her long collaboration with Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi, making her one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation. She acted as a lead actress in * The Salesman* which won an Oscar in 2017. A prominent actress in Iran, she has bagged many awards and accolades.

Alidoosti played the title role during the three seasons of the hit Iranian VOD series Shahrzad.

Daily Kos has recognized Alidoosti as one of several historically trailblazing women born between 9 through 16 January, along with three other Iranians, Kimia Alizadeh, Christiane Amanpour, and Nadia Maftouni.

Personal life

Alidoosti's father, Hamid, played football for Iran’s national team and was the first Iranian to play for a foreign team (FSV Salmrohr, German 2. Bundesliga). Afterward, he became a professional football coach. Alidoosti's mother, , is a sculptor and art tutor. Her only brother, Poyan, died in an accident during the annual Iranian Fire Festival (Chaharshanbe Suri), in March 2005 at the age of 16.

Taraneh Alidoosti married Ali Mansour in 2011 and has a daughter named Hannah born in 2013.

Activism and arrest

Academy Awards boycott

On 26 January 2017, Alidoosti announced she would be boycotting the 89th Academy Awards where The Salesman had been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film to protest against upcoming stringent visa travel restrictions that the Trump administration planned to impose on Iranians.

Arrest

On 17 December 2022, Iranian authorities detained Alidoosti for making an Instagram post criticizing the execution of Mohsen Shekari, which is the first known execution carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran as a direct result of the Mahsa Amini protests. The Instagram post reads, "Your silence means the support of the oppression and the oppressor. His name was Mohsen Shekari. Every international organization who is watching this bloodshed and not taking action is a disgrace to humanity."

Reactions

About 600 members of the international arts community from 30 different countries signed an open letter demanding Alidoosti's release. Signatories include Olivia Colman, Jessica Chastain, Cillian Murphy, Kristen Stewart, Dame Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Isabelle Huppert, Juliette Binoche, Ken Loach, Alfonso Cuarón, Zahra Amir Ebrahimi, Golshifteh Farahani, Nazanin Boniadi, Penélope Cruz, Brian Eno, John Oliver, Mark Ruffalo, Ian McKellen, Lily James and Julie Christie.

Robert De Niro released a statement with the Tribeca Festival demanding Alidoosti's immediate release. There have also been statements demanding her release by the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlinale, IFFR, IDFA and the European Film Academy.

Release

On 4 January 2023, Alidoosti was released after posting bail, reported to be around £20,000.

On 24 December 2025, in a short TV documentary for BBC Persian made by Pegah Ahangarani called Taraneh, Alidoosti spoke for the first time since the 2022 protests about her ban, illness with DRESS syndrome, views on cinema and her future.

Filmography

Film

Web

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Shreshthi, Abhilasha. (2023-01-04). "Iranian Actress Taraneh Alidoosti Released After Being Jailed For Backing Protests".
2. (11 August 2006). "Locarno holds up a mirror to the Middle East". [[Swissinfo]].
3. (2023-01-04). "Taraneh Alidoosti: Iran releases top actress held for supporting protests". BBC News.
4. "بیوگرافی "ترانه علیدوستی" و همسرش به همراه عکس دخترش".
5. (2018-01-28). "بیوگرافی ترانه علیدوستی و همسرش و دخترش +عکسهای اینستاگرامی و گفتگو".
6. "ترانه علیدوستی {{!}} بیوگرافی + عکس‌های ترانه علیدوستی {{!}} سلام‌سینما".
7. "Taraneh Alidoosti Among Trailblazing Women of History".
8. "Charshanbe-Souri celebrations turn deadly again". PersianLeague.
9. (2017-01-26). "Iranian Oscar contender: I'll boycott awards over Trump's 'racist' visa ban".
10. Wintour, Patrick. (17 December 2022). "Iranian actor Taraneh Alidoosti arrested after criticism of death penalty".
11. Engelbrecht, Cora. (2022-12-08). "Iran Executes Man Over Nationwide Protests". The New York Times.
12. (17 December 2022). "Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti arrested after voicing support for Mahsa Amini protests". A News.
13. (22 December 2022). "Open Letter from the International Arts Community Demanding the Release of Taraneh Alidoosti". A News.
14. (22 December 2022). "Celebrities Demand Release of Iranian Actor Taraneh Alidoosti". A News.
15. Ramachandran, Naman. (4 January 2023). "Iranian Star Taraneh Alidoosti to be Released on Bail".
16. (23 December 2022). "Robert De Niro & Jane Rosenthal Join Chorus Of Calls For Release Of Iranian Actress Taraneh Alidoosti". A News.
17. (21 December 2022). "European Film Festivals Demand Release of Iranian Star Taraneh Alidoosti From Prison". A News.
18. Wintour, Patrick. (4 January 2023). "Iranian actor Taraneh Alidoosti released from jail after family post bail". The Guardian.
19. https://wspartners.bbc.com/episode/n12t28rs9
20. (2024-11-20). "کدام آثار سینمایی نامزد تندیس حافظ شدند؟".
21. "2002".