Nazanin Boniadi is an Iranian-born actress and internationally recognised human and women’s rights activist.
As an Amnesty International UK Ambassador and long-time partner of Amnesty USA, she has championed the rights of marginalised populations—especially Iranian women, youth, and prisoners of conscience—since 2008. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has emerged as a key global voice for Iran’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.
Her advocacy has brought her to Capitol Hill, the UN, and parliaments across the UK, Canada, Germany, and Australia. In 2022, she met with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and testified before the UN Security Council on the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses. She has spoken at major international forums including the Munich Security Conference, World Economic Forum, and Oslo Freedom Forum.
Boniadi is the recipient of numerous human rights honors, including the 2023 Sydney Peace Prize, the 2022 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and awards from Freedom House and the Feminist Majority Foundation. Her commentary has appeared in The New York Times, TIME, CNN, and The Washington Post.
As an actress, Boniadi is known for her roles in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Homeland, Counterpart, and Hotel Mumbai. She will next star in A Mosquito in the Ear and The Saviors. She is fluent in English and Persian.