Nazanin Boniadi

Miss Boniadi was born in Iran in 1980. Her parents moved to London when she was just a child. She showed an aptitude for the sciences from a young age. After high school, she was accepted to the University of California, Irvine. Nazanin completed a Bachelor's degree with Honors in the Biological Sciences. During this period, she won the Chang Pin-Uh Undergraduate Research Award for molecular research into finding a cure for cancer and heart transplant rejection; she was also the assistant editor-in-chief for the school's undergraduate medical newspaper. Yes, it seemed certain that a career in medicine was in store for Nazanin. However, she always had a creative side of herself that she kept happy with violin and ballet lessons. By the age of ten, she had already received a merit from the Royal College of Music for her violin virtuosity, a certificate from the Vaccani School of dance, and won the Yamaha Electone Festival for her proficiency on the electric organ. After graduation, however, it was evident that violin and ballet would not be enough to keep her creativity satisfied. She went back to the UK and started getting acting bits in children's television shows. Soon after, she got a job on the US acclaimed soap opera, General Hospital, becoming the first Iranian born actress to ever be on contract on an American soap, playing Leyla Mir. Miss Boniadi is also a human rights activist, particularly for her work with Amnesty International. Nazanin is what this website is all about: Beauty + Brains = A True Persian!