Irene Zazians
Actor
Biography
Irene Zazians (August 20, 1927 – July 28, 2012), known mononymously as Irene, was an Iranian-Armenian actress of cinema and television. She worked with famous Iranian new wave directors both before and after the 1979 revolution, such as Samuel Khachikian, Amir Naderi, Nosrat Karimi, Masoud Kimiyayi, and Alireza Davood Nejad. Her two films after the revolution, The Red Line directed by Kimiyayi and The Reward by Davood Nejad, were banned.
She also appeared in four TV series. She portrayed Mahde Olya (Nasereddin Shah's mother) in Soltan-e Sahebgheran directed by Ali Hatami in 1976. Her role in Hezar Dastan, another series directed by Ali Hatami, was cut out. After the Iranian revolution she was banned from taking part in any artistic activities. She travelled to Germany, where she re-trained as a beautician. She returned to Iran in 1986, during the harshest time of the Iran-Iraq war. Her last performance in cinema was in Shirin in 2008, a film by Abbas Kiarostami. She died of lung cancer in 2012 in Tehran.
Filmography
Baluch
as Farangis 1972
Razor's Edge: The Legacy of Iranian Actresses
as Self 2016
The Red-Haired
as Nayyer 1974
Anxiety
1962
The Red Line
as Lale's mother 1982
Filmfarsi
as (archive footage) 2019
Agitation
as Shahla 1976
Rooster
as Belgheis 1973
Akbar the Interpreter
as Maliheh 1973
Hakim-bashi
as Ensiyeh 1972
Mardi ke ranj mibarad
as Sorour 1957
Homaye Sa'adat
as Nazanin 1971
The Interim Husband
1971
Berehne ta zohr ba sorat
1976
Noah's Ark
as Leyla 1968
The Triple Bed
as Touran 1973