Angella Nazarian is an American former academic, non-fiction author, conference organizer and philanthropist.

Early life

Angella Nazarian was born as Angella Maddahi in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

in the late 1960s, to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family.JIMENA-Voice of Forgotten Refugees
Voice of Angella Nazarian- From Revolutionary Tehran to Beverly Hills in One Lifetime
''The Jerusalem Post'', October 6, 2013Michele Dargan
Author Angella Nazarian explains concealing both Jewish, Iranian heritage
, ''Palm Beach Daily News'', October 21, 2010 Her father was a

bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

trader from

Rasht Rasht (; ) is a city in the Central District (Rasht County), Central District of Rasht County, Gilan province, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is also known as the "City of ...

. Her family name was originally Yacobzadeh; he changed it to Maddahi to obviate anti-Semitic discrimination. Moreover, they did not tell other people they were Jewish. She has a sister and three brothers. She was educated at Ettefagh, a Jewish school in Tehran. During the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

of 1979, she immigrated to the United States with her family, settling in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

, where her uncle and brothers lived.JBW Talks to Angella Nazarian
''

Jewish Book Council The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of quali ...

'', September 2, 2010Gabriel Kahn
Something to Talk About: How Angella Nazarian’s First “Women A.R.E.” Conference Came to Be
''

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

'', November 5, 2013 The next year, her parents went back to Iran to sell their assets, but they were not allowed to leave because of the ongoing

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

. By 1985, they managed to escape to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, and were sent back to the United States by the

Jewish Federations of North America The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), formerly the United Jewish Communities (UJC), is an American Jewish umbrella organization for the Jewish Federations system, representing over 350 independent Jewish communities across North Ameri ...

. Both Angella and her parents received

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

in the United States. They are not allowed to visit Iran again. An interview of her early life as a refugee conducted by

JIMENA Jimena or is the Spanish female version of the given name Jimeno. The French rendering of the name is Chimène. It has come to be viewed as a form of the name Simone, though their origins are distinct. A variant is Ximena. People with the nam ...

was published in ''The Jerusalem Post''.

Career

Nazarian was a Professor of Psychology at

Mount St. Mary's University Mount St. Mary's University is a private Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland, United States. It has the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. Undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Arts, the Richar ...

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

and the

Los Angeles Valley College Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC, Valley College, or Valley) is a public community college in Los Angeles, California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, ...

for eleven years.Iranian-American Women Foundation: Angella Nazarian
/ref> She is a non-fiction author and has written four books. Her first book, ''Life as a Visitor'', chronicled her departure from Iran and life as a refugee in California.Karmel Melamed
Q&A: Iranian Jewish author Angella Nazarian’s new book makes splash!
''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', March 8, 2012 Her second book, ''Pioneers of the Possible: Celebrating Visionary Women of the World'', was a collection of essays about female role models. Her third book, ''Visionary Women'', highlights the lives of twenty female luminaries of modern times. In her fourth book "''Creative Couples: Collaborations that Changed History''", Nazarian explores the various forms a couple can take and dives deep into the stories of fifteen couples who motivate one another, work together, and change lives as a team. Nazarian was a speaker at the 2012 Milken Institute Global Conference.2012 Milken Institute Global Conference: Angella Nazarian
/ref> In 2013, she organized a conference on women's rights called ''Women A.R.E.''. Speakers included

Wallis Annenberg Wallis Huberta Annenberg (born July 15, 1939) is an American philanthropist and heiress. Annenberg serves as president and chairwoman of the Board of The Annenberg Foundation, a multibillion-dollar philanthropic organization in the United States ...

and

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress and film producer. Known for primarily playing femmes fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the ...

Philanthropy

Angella co-founde
Looking Beyond
a non-profit organization that promotes awareness and enriches the lives of children and young adults with special needs. In 2015, Angella co-founded the non-profit women’s leadership organization
Visionary Women
along with her co-founders, former mayor of Beverly Hills and City Council member, Honorable Lili Bosse, and former US Ambassador, Nicole Avant, and Veronica Smiley, bringing together some of the most dynamic thought leaders in the country for in-depth conversations. She now serves as the organization’s president. Speakers include 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee, President of Conde Nast Entertainment, Dawn Ostroff, Vice President of Original Content at Netflix, Pauline Fischer, and five-time Emmy Winning journalist Giselle Fernandez. With her husband, she has endowed the David and Angella Nazarian Youth Program at Sinai Temple, a Conservative synagogue in Westwood, for children from the 9th to the 12th grade.Nurit Greenger
Hillel 818 Honors David & Angella Nazarian
''The Times of Israel'', September 24, 2014 In 2014, they were also honored for their Jewish and pro-Israel philanthropy by Hillel 818, the chapter of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life for students at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

(CSUN), Pierce College and the

. Additionally, they endowed the Angella and David Nazarian Social Innovators in Residence program at the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

. She is a member of the Iranian American Women Foundation and has spoken at conferences on their behalf.

Awards

Nazarian was awarded an honorary Doctorate Degree in Letters and Science from

Woodbury University Woodbury University is a private university in Burbank, California. Founded in 1884 with initial campuses in Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown and Central Los Angeles, Woodbury University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Sout ...

in 2017. She is also the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which is presented annually to American citizens whose accomplishments in their field and inspired service to the United States are cause for celebration. In October 2020, Angeleno Magazine honored Nazarian on their list of "The 25 Most Influential Angelenos". In 2018, CSQ honored Nazarian in the "Visionaries Awards in Philanthropy, Art, & Culture". In 2017, LA Confidential listed Nazarian as a "Woman of Influence" in their women’s issue. In 2015, the Los Angeles Lakers and Comerica Bank presented Ms. Nazarian with the Women’s Leadership Award in the category of Women of Diversity.

Personal life

She is married to David Nazarian, an investor, philanthropist and son of business mogul and philanthropist Younes Nazarian. They have two sons.

Bibliography

*''Life as a Visitor'' (Assouline, 2009). *''Pioneers of the Possible: Celebrating Visionary Women of the World'' (Assouline, 2012). *''Visionary Women'' (Assouline, 2015) *''Creative Couples: Collaborations that Changed History'' (Assouline, 2019)

References

External links

Official websiteThe David and Angella Nazarian Leadership Program at Sinai Temple
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nazarian, Angella Living people Writers from Tehran Academics from Tehran People from Beverly Hills, California Iranian emigrants to the United States Refugees in the United States Mount St. Mary's University (Los Angeles) faculty California State University, Long Beach faculty American women writers Philanthropists from California Iranian philanthropists Iranian Jews Conservative Jews Angella Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in Pakistan Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United States Year of birth missing (living people)