Atossa Leoni (born October 1977) is an actress who has worked internationally in film, television, and theater since childhood. Her mother is of

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

descent, and her father was born in Afghanistan and raised in Germany by his adoptive mother. Atossa was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and has lived in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and received her education in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. She is fluent in five languages and currently resides in New York City. Atossa made her American screen debut starring as Soraya, the female lead in the

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of ''

The Kite Runner ''The Kite Runner'' is the debut novel of Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it tells the story of Amir, a young Afghan boy from Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul. The story is set against a backdrop of tumul ...

''. The film is based on

Khaled Hosseini Khaled Hosseini or Khalid Husseini (; Pashto/Persian: , ; born March 4, 1965) is an Afghan-American novelist, UNHCR goodwill ambassador, and former physician. His debut novel '' The Kite Runner'' (2003) was a critical and commercial success; ...

's best-selling novel, which remained on ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' best-seller list for over 124 weeks. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker

Marc Forster Marc Forster (born 30 November 1969) is a German-Swiss filmmaker. He is best known for directing the feature films ''Monster's Ball'', ''Finding Neverland (film), Finding Neverland'', ''Stranger than Fiction (2006 film), Stranger than Fiction'' ...

, the film has received praise from critics and fans and is considered a major awards contender. She was also seen in the critically praised '' America So Beautiful''. The film, which also starred Academy Award nominee

Shohreh Aghdashloo Shohreh Aghdashloo (, ; born Vaziri-Tabar, May 11, 1952) is an Iranian and American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Satellite Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. Followin ...

, follows a group of immigrants in Los Angeles during the unfolding of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. ''America So Beautiful'' was recognized at the

Marrakech International Film Festival The Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM) (, Amazigh: ⴰⵏⵎⵓⴳⴳⴰⵔ ⴰⴳⵔⴰⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵏ ⵍⴼⵉⵍⵎ ⴳ ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ) is an international film festival held annually in Marrakech, Morocco. It was established i ...

in 2002 and competed in the Panorama Section of the 2002

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

. Atossa lent her voice to narrate the

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

versions of Khaled Hosseini's ''

A Thousand Splendid Suns ''A Thousand Splendid Suns'' is a 2007 novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini, following the huge success of his bestselling 2003 debut '' The Kite Runner''. Mariam, an illegitimate teenager from Herat, is forced to marry a shoemaker ...

'' and Greg Mortenson's ''

Three Cups of Tea ''Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time'' (original hardcover title: ''Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations ... One School at a Time'') is a memoir book by Greg Morte ...

'', as well as his follow-up '' Stones into Schools,'' all of which are best-selling books around the world.

References

External links

*
OCPC Magazine cover story on Atossa Leoni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leoni, Atossa Hazara artists German film actresses Immigrants to Italy Immigrants to the United States Living people 1977 births Actresses from Berlin Actresses from Los Angeles German people of Iranian descent German voice actresses Italian people of Iranian descent Actresses from Rome 21st-century American women Hazara women