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Sarah Shahi
Born	Aahoo Jahansouz [1] January 10, 1980 (1980-01-10) (age 29) Euless, Texas
Occupation	Actress, Model
Spouse(s)	Steve Howey

Aahoo Jahansouz (Persian: آهو جهانسوز), also known as Sarah Shahi (born January 10, 1980) is an American actress of Spanish-Iranian descent. A former NFL Cheerleader, Shahi was named #90 on the Maxim magazine "Hot 100 of 2005" list;¹ she moved up to #66 in 2006.² Sarah is married to actor Steve Howey, whom she met on the set of Reba in 2004. She has starred in The L Word and currently stars in Life.

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Acting career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 5 Print work 6 References 7 External links

Early life and career

Sarah Shahi was born in Euless, Texas, to an Iranian father originated from Iran, Abbas Shahi, and a mother of Spanish descent, Mahmonir.³⁴ She is a great-great-granddaughter of the 19th century Iranian king Fath Ali Shah Qajar.⁵ Her real given name, Aahoo, is the Persian for gazelle⁶. She was 10 years old when her parents divorced. She attended Trinity High School and Dallas' Southern Methodist University, majoring in English and Opera.⁷ Shahi started her career as a beauty queen during her teen years. She won the Miss Fort Worth USA pageant in 1997. She joined the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders 1999–2000 squad and appeared on the cover of their 2000 calendar.

Acting career

While working as an extra on the set of Dr. T and the Women, she met director Robert Altman, who encouraged her to move to Hollywood. Once in L.A., she got various recurrent roles in several famous series, such as Alias, where she played Jenny, and Dawson's Creek, where she was Sadia Shaw. Shahi was also the first ghost in Supernatural, the CW paranormal drama series.

She is best known for her role as the Mexican-American DJ Carmen de la Pica Morales in the Showtime drama television series The L Word, which she joined in its second season. Shahi did not renew her contract with the series for the fourth season, and consequently her character was written out. She makes a guest appearance on the last episode of the series.

She also played the role of Farah in the second season of Sleeper Cell. She also appeared in HBO's The Sopranos, in the Season 6b episode "Kennedy and Heidi", as Sonya Aragon, a stripper and college student who spends a weekend with Tony after a death in his family.

She is currently costarring in the NBC series Life along with British actor Damien Lewis as detective Charlie Crews. Shahi plays homicide detective Dani Reese. Her character is currently on loan to the FBI.

Personal life

Shahi speaks English, Persian, and some Spanish. She lived with her mother after her parents divorced, and has a brown belt in karate.

Sarah and husband Steve Howey are expecting their first child in 2009.⁸ She is working fewer hours a day on Life, and is seen in tight camera shots from the chest up to hide her pregnancy.⁹ Gabrielle Union is filling in as Detective Crews' female partner for the rest of the 2009 spring network season.

Filmography

• Dr. T and the Women (2000) as an uncredited cheerleader
• City Guys: "Shock Treatment" (2000-11-04) as Cheerleader
• Spin City: "Blind Faith" (2000-11-15) as Bachelorette
• Boston Public: "Chapter Eleven" (2001-01-22) as Laura
• Off Centre: "A Cute Triangle" (2001-11-18) as Angelica
• Maybe It's Me: "The Exchange-Student" (2001-12-07) as Rosa
• Alias (2001–2002, seven episodes) as Jenny, a budding journalist.
• Class of '06 (2002, undeveloped pilot) as Meg
• Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) as Becky, a Delta-Nu sister
• Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central): "Chinese Baby" (2002-06-05) as TV Diva
• Frasier: "Door Jam" (2003-01-07) as Reservationist
• Old School (2003) as Erica
• Dawson's Creek (2003, four episodes) as Sadia Shaw, a journalist.
• ER: "The Greater Good" (2003-11-06) as Tara King
• Reba: "To Tell You the Truth" (2004-01-23) as Kate
• Century City: "Sweet Child of Mine" (2004-04-06) as Ms. Morris
• A Lot Like Love (2005) as Starlet
• Plan B (2005, undeveloped pilot) as Bronwyn
• Supernatural: "Pilot" (2005-09-13) as The Woman in White/Constance Welsh
• The L Word (2005–2007) as Carmen de la Pica Morales
• Teachers (2006, six episodes) as Tina
• Damages (2006, undeveloped pilot) as Jennifer Carillo
• The Dog Problem (2006) as Candy
• For Your Consideration (2006) as Wake Up Host
• Sleeper Cell (2006) as Farah
• Reba: "Cheyenne's Rival" (2007-01-28) as Bridget
• The Sopranos: "Kennedy and Heidi" (2007-05-13) as Sonya Aragon
• Life (2007—) as Dani Reese
• AmericanEast (2007) as Salwah Marzoke
• Shades of Ray (2007) as Sana Khaliq
• The Adventures of Beatle Boyin (2007) as Carla
• Rush Hour 3 (2007) as Zoe (uncredited)
• "The L Word" (2009) as Carmen de la Pica Morales
• Crossing Over (2009) as Pooneh Baraheri

Print work

• Curve
• Maxim
• Muscular Development
• Men's Fitness

References

External links

• Sarah Shahi Today's Girl - Maxim.com
• The LWord Online Biography
• History of Iran: Qajar Dynasty
• Don't Quote Me: Kate Moennig and Sarah Shahi on The L Word
• Everyone Loves A Latin Girl (in French)
• Everyone Loves a Latin Girl (in English)
• Iran News: Artistic Moments of Iranian-American Actress Sarah Shahi