Sarah Shahi

Biography:

Raised in Euless, Texas, Sarah Shahi was born Aahoo Jahansouzshahi on January 10, 1980. When she was ten years old, her mother, interior designer Mahmonir Soroushazar, and father, Abbas Jahansouzshahi, separated. Her mother is of Spanish and Iranian (Persian) ancestry. Her dad is an Iranian. Two years prior to the Iranian Revolution, her father’s family departed Iran. When the last Shah’s regime fell in 1979, her father, who was employed at the US embassy in Iran, was scheduled for execution but managed to escape the nation. Shahi has a younger sister named Samantha, who works as a production assistant, and an older brother named Cyrus.

Aahoo, which translates to “gazelle” in Persian, is her natal name. After hearing the Starship song “Sara” in second grade, Shahi changed her name to Sarah since she was “tormented” by other kids about her birth name, Aahoo.  She was raised speaking both Persian and English at her father’s request. When Shahi was eight years old, her parents started entering her in beauty pageants. Shahi went to Southern Methodist University and Trinity High School. While attending SMU, she belonged to Alpha Chi Omega. In 1997, Shahi won the Miss Fort Worth pageant. Despite never having cheered before, she joined the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (1999–2000) squad with the goal of becoming an actress. She later relocated to Los Angeles.