List of people from Tehran

The following notable people were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the city of Tehran, Iran. Tehran natives are also referred to as Tehranis.

Born in Tehran

1801–1900

Bahá'u'lláh (1817–1892), founder of the Bahá'í faith
Subh-i-Azal (1831–1912), Persian religious leader of Azali Bábism
`Abdu'l-Bahá (1844–1921), former head of the Bahá'í faith
Morteza Gholi Khan Hedayat (1856–1911), politician and first chairman of the Iranian parliament
Mirza Ali Asghar Khan Amin al-Soltan (1858–1907), Prime Minister of Iran
Mehdi Qoli Hedayat (1863–1955), Prime Minister of Iran
Vossug ed Dowleh (1868–1951), Prime Minister of Qajar era Iran
Mostowfi ol-Mamalek (c. 1871–1932), politician; Prime Minister on six occasions from 1910 to 1927
Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda (1879–1956), linguist
Hossein Ala' (1881–1964), Prime Minister of Iran in 1951 and from 1955 to 1957
Abol-Ghasem Kashani (1882–1962), Twelver Shia Muslim cleric and Chairman of the Parliament of Iran
Mohammad Mosaddegh (1882–1967), politician
Ali Mansur (1886–1974), Prime Minister of Iran
Harold Nicolson (1886–1968), English diplomat, author, diarist and politician
Solayman Haïm (1887–1970), lexicographer, translator, playwright and essayist
Mirza Javad Khan Ameri (1891–1980), Iranian politician
Saeed Nafisi (1895–1966), scholar, fiction writer and poet
Ahmad Matin-Daftari (1896–1971), Prime Minister of Iran
Gholamreza Rouhani (1897–1985), humorous poet
Nasrollah Entezam (1900–1980), diplomat
Mohammad Hejazi (1900–1974), novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist, translator

1901–1930

Haj Ali Razmara (1901–1951), military leader and prime minister of Iran
Sadegh Hedayat (1903–1951), writer, translator and intellectual
Bozorg Alavi (1904–1997), writer, novelist, and political intellectual
Ali Amini (1905–1992), politician and writer, Prime Minister of Iran from 1961 to 1962
Rahi Mo'ayyeri (1909–1968), poet and musician
Davud Monshizadeh (1915–1989), founder of Sumka (the "Iranian National Socialist Workers Party")
Shams Pahlavi (1917–1996), the elder sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran
Amir-Abbas Hoveyda (1919–1979), economist and politician
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980), king of Iran (Shah of Iran) from 1941 until his overthrow by the Islamic Revolution (1979)
Nasser Moghadam (1921–1979), the fourth and last chief of SAVAK
Heydar Ghiai (born 1922), architect
Jalal Al-e-Ahmad (1923–1969), writer, thinker and social and political critic
Hassan Ali Mansur (1923–1965), politician, Prime Minister from 1963 to 1965
Abdollah Mojtabavi (1925–2012), freestyle wrestling athlete
Sadegh Nezam-mafi (1925–2009), physician and medical pioneer
Ali Javan (born 1926), Iranian-American physicist and inventor at MIT
Simin Behbahani (1927–2014), poet, lyricist and activist
Ray Aghayan (1928–2011), costume designer
Masoud Boroumand (1928–2011), footballer
Ardeshir Zahedi (born 1928), diplomat
Lotfi Mansouri (1929–2013), opera director and manager
Ali Mirzaei (born 1929), weightlifter
Mahmoud Mollaghasemi (born 1929), freestyle wrestler
Ezzatollah Sahabi (1930–2011), scholar, humanitarian, democracy activist, politician and former Parliament member
Gholamreza Takhti (1930–1968), Olympic gold medalist wrestler

1931–1950

Mohammad Ali Fardin (1931–2000), wrestler and actor
Mostafa Chamran (1932–1981), physicist, politician and commander
Nasser Givehchi (born 1932), wrestler
Hossein Nasr (born 1933), University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University and Islamic philosopher
Forough Farrokhzad (1935–1967), poet and film director
Iraj Ghaderi (1935–2012), film director and actor
Bahman Nirumand (born 1936), Iranian and German journalist and author
Kamran Diba (born 1937), architect
Majid Samii (born 1937), neurosurgeon and medical scientist
Hossein Zenderoudi (born 1937), painter and sculptor
Parviz Jalayer (born 1939), weightlifter and Olympic silver medalist
Dariush Mehrjui (born 1939), director, screenwriter, producer, film editor
Younan Nowzaradan (born 1944), surgeon and TV personality
Kamran Shirdel (born 1939), documentarist
Bijan (1940–2011), designer of menswear and fragrances
Abbas Kiarostami (born 1940), film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer
Shahnaz Pahlavi (born 1940), Princess of Iran
Barbet Schroeder (born 1941), film director and producer
Khosrow Vaziri (born 1942), professional wrestler and actor
Ali Hatami (1944–1996), film director, screenwriter, art director and costume designer
Kamal Kharazi (born 1944), politician and diplomat
Sohrab Shahid-Saless (1944–1998), film director and screenwriter
Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel (born 1945), philosopher and politician
Mohammad Nassiri (born 1945), weightlifter and Olympic gold medalist
Abdolkarim Soroush (born 1945), thinker and reformer
Ali Parvin (born 1946), football player and coach
Shahrnush Parsipur (born 1946), novelist
Mohammad Reza Adelkhani (born 1947), footballer
Mansour Barzegar (born 1947), wrestler
Shaul Mofaz (born 1948), Israeli politician
Firouzeh Vokhshouri (born 1948), Princess Firouzeh Asem of Jordan
Ebi (born 1949), singer
Nasser Hejazi (1949–2011), football player and coach
Googoosh (born 1950), Iranian singer and actress of Iranian Azerbaijani origin
Hassan Mehmani (born 1950), Iranian actor and director

1951–1960

Andranik Eskandarian (born 1951), Iranian-American footballer
Mansoor Hekmat (1951–2002), Marxist theorist and leader of the worker-communist movement
Shohreh Aghdashloo (born 1952), Iranian-American actress
Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh (born 1952), France based Iranian religious scholar
Parviz Davoodi (born 1952), hardline conservative politician
Valentine Moghadam (born 1952), feminist scholar, sociologist, activist and author
Maryam Rajavi (born 1953), politician
Daryush Shokof (born 1954),
Mary Apick (born 1954), Iranian-Armenian stage, television and film actress
Hadi Teherani (born 1954), German-Iranian architect and designer
Darius Khondji (born 1955), Iranian-French cinematographer
Azar Nafisi (born 1955), writer and professor of English literature
Feizollah Nasseri (born 1955), weightlifter
Goli Ameri (born 1956), Iranian-American diplomat and businesswoman
Ramin Jahanbegloo (born 1956), philosopher and academic
Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar (born 1956), politician and army general
Mohsen Makhmalbaf (born 1957), film director, writer, film editor and producer
Abbas Maroufi (born 1957), novelist and journalist
Andranik Madadian (born 1958), Armenian-Iranian singer-songwriter and actor
Bita Farrahi (born 1958), actress
Farzad Bonyadi (born c. 1959), professional poker player
Majid Majidi (born 1959), film director, film producer and screenwriter
Ahmad Bourghani (1960–2008), politician, journalist, writer and political analyst
Masoumeh Ebtekar (born 1960), Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs
Vali Nasr (born 1960), American academic and author
Reza Pahlavi (born 1960), crown prince of Persia
Cumrun Vafa (born 1960), Iranian-American leading string theorist from Harvard University

1961–1970

Parastou Forouhar (born 1962), installation artist
Rita (born 1962), Israeli pop singer and actress
Hassan Bastani (born 1962), Iranian playwright
Camila Batmanghelidjh (born c. 1963), Iranian-born author and charity executive in the United Kingdom
Amir Ghalenoei (born 1963), football coach and player
Farahnaz Pahlavi (born 1963), the eldest daughter of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Shaun Toub (born 1963), film and television actor
Philippe Blasband (born 1964), filmmaker; writer in French language from Belgium
Rosie Malek-Yonan (born 1965), actress, author, director and activist of Assyrian ethnicity
Marina Nemat (born 1965), author
Afshin Ellian (born 1966), Iranian-Dutch professor of law, philosopher, poet and critic of political Islam
Reza Mirkarimi (born 1966), film writer and director
Maryam Namazie (born 1966), secularist and human rights activist, commentator and broadcaster
Ali-Reza Pahlavi (1966–2011), member of the Pahlavi Imperial Family of Iran (Persia)
Jasmin Tabatabai (born 1967), Iranian-German actress
Mani Haghighi (born 1969), filmmaker, screenwriter and actor
Abbas Jadidi (born 1969), wrestler
Azam Ali (born 1970), Iranian American singer and musician
Amir Ansari (born 1970), Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Prodea Systems
Shokufeh Kavani (born 1970), contemporary painter, translator and artist
Leila Pahlavi (1970–2001), youngest daughter of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran
Sharam (born 1970), Iranian-American progressive house DJ and producer

1971–1980

Arash Hejazi (born 1971), novelist, fiction writer and translator of literary works from English and Portuguese into Persian
Niki Karimi (born 1971), actress, director and screenwriter
Mansour (born 1971), Iranian Azerbaijani artist
Alireza Mansourian (born 1971), football coach and player
Leila Hatami (born 1972), actress
Tami Stronach (born 1972), Israeli American dancer and choreographer
Shadmehr Aghili (born 1973), pop singer, musician, composer, producer and songwriter
Ali Tabatabaee (born 1973), rapper, singer, musician in band Zebrahead
Cassandra Clare (born 1973), American author of young adult fiction
Kirill Pirogov (born 1973), Russian film and theatre actor and composer
DJ Aligator (born 1975), Iranian-Danish producer and DJ
Omid Nouripour (born 1975), Iranian-German politician
Bahar Soomekh (born 1975), Iranian-American actress
Vahid Hashemian (born 1976), footballer and coach
Roxana Manouchehri (born 1976), visual artist
Mahnaz Afshar (born 1977), actress
Arash (born 1977), Iranian-Swedish singer, entertainer and producer
Mehdi Mahdavikia (born 1977), football player
Marsha Mehran (1977–2014), novelist
Maryam Mirzakhani (born 1977), mathematician
Laleh Seddigh (born 1977), female race car driver
Ameneh Bahrami (born 1978), woman blinded in an acid attack
Antonio Esfandiari (born 1978), professional poker player
Ramin Karimloo (born 1978), Iranian-Canadian actor and singer
Navíd Akhavan (born 1980), Iranian-German actor
Nazanin Boniadi (born 1980), Iranian-born British American actress
Morteza Khoshbakht (born 1980), freestyle wrestler
Samira Makhmalbaf (born 1980), filmmaker and script writer
Narges Rashidi (born 1980), American-German actress
Sami Yusuf (born 1980), British singer-songwriter, composer and producer of Iranian Azerbaijani descent

1981–2000

Masoud Kazemi (born 1981), journalist and human rights activist
Nasim Pedrad (born 1981), Iranian-American actress and comedian
Amir Hossein Sadeghi (born 1981), football player
Sirvan Khosravi (born 1982), pop singer and composer
Amir Shapourzadeh (born 1982), Iranian-German footballer
Vahid Talebloo (born 1982), football goalkeeper
Andranik Teymourian (born 1983), footballer
Elshan Moradi (born 1985), chess grandmaster
Gegard Mousasi (born 1985), Dutch mixed martial artist
Behrang Safari (born 1985), Iranian-Swedish footballer
Fatemeh Behboudi (born 1985), photojournalist
Ashkan Dejagah (born 1986), professional footballer
Mohammad Bagheri Motamed (born 1986), taekwondo practitioner
Omid Abolhassani (born 1988), football player banned for four years
Alireza Haghighi (born 1988), goalkeeper
Marjan Kalhor (born 1988), alpine skier
Hana Makhmalbaf (born 1988), filmmaker
Mohammad Parvin (born 1988), football player
Atousa Pourkashiyan (born 1988), chess player
Mohammad Kiadarbandsari (born 1989), alpine skier
Milad Mohammadi (born 1993), footballer
Dalita Avanesian (born 1999), Armenian singer, participant in Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2011

Full date unknown

Maryam Eslamdoust, politician and trade union official
Omid Habibinia, journalist and organization founder

Lived in Tehran

Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1831–1896), King of Persia from 1848 to 1896
Shirin Ebadi (born 1947), lawyer
Majid Entezami (born 1948), musician and composer
Kayhan Kalhor (born 1963), Kamancheh player, composer and master of classical Kurdish and Iranian traditional music
Hadi Saei (born 1976), taekwondo athlete

References