Leila Hatami (; born 1 October 1972) is an Iranian actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of Iranian Cinema, she is considered one of the most prominent performers in the 21st century. She is recognized for her realistic acting in drama films and she rose to international fame for her role as Simin in

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning film '' A Separation'' (2011), for which she received the Silver Bear for Best Actress. Hatami made her film debut portraying Kamal-ol-molk in the drama '' Kamalolmolk'' (1984) and received critical acclaim for playing a sterile young woman in the drama '' Leila'' (1997). She received her first Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress from the 27th Fajr Film Festival for playing a housewife in '' Penniless'' (2009) and received her first international award from the 26th

French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

made her a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. She received the Best Actress award from the

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...

for her performance in '' The Last Step'' (2012).

Early life

Leila Hatami was born on 1 October 1972, 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 ...

, to influential Iranian director Ali Hatami and actress Zari Khoshkam. After finishing high school, she moved to

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and started her studies in

Mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne ( EPFL). After two years she changed her major to

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...

. After completing her studies, she returned to live in

Career

Hatami played several small roles in her father's productions throughout her youth, including in the '' Hezar Dastan'' television series and the '' Kamalolmolk'' movie. Her first leading film appearance was the

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

in the 1997 film '' Leila'', directed by Dariush Mehrjui. She received the Diploma of Honor for Best Actress from the 15th

Fajr Film Festival Iran's annual Fajr International Film Festival (), or Fajr Film Festival (little: FIFF; ), has been held every February in Tehran since 1983. The festival is supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (Iran), Ministry of Culture ...

. Following this, she continued to act regularly in Iranian cinema. She has starred in dozens of films, and has often garnered critical acclaim and accolades. For her performance in '' The Deserted Station'' (2002), she was nominated for the

Award for Best Actress and she won the Best Actress Award at the 26th

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.Portrait of a Lady Far Away'' (2005) and '' The Last Step'' (2012). She also designed the sets and the costumes of ''The Last Step'' and, in addition to receiving the

Award for Best Actress for her performance, she received a nomination for the Crystal Simorgh

Award for Best Production Design and Costume Design for her work on the film. Leila Hatami Cannes 2013

In 2012, she received international attention for her role in the critical acclaimed

Asghar Farhadi Asghar Farhadi ( ; born 7 May 1972)Soureh Movie Database
is an Iranian ...

film, '' A Separation'', which won dozens of accolades, including the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. Her performance earned critical acclaim and various awards, including the Silver Bear Award for Best Actress at the

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 ...

. IndieWire praised her portrayal as one of the best female performances of the 21st century. In June 2017, the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

invited Leila Hatami to become a member.

Judging at film festivals

In April 2014, she was announced as a member of the main competition jury at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Whilst there, she greeted Cannes President Gilles Jacob with a kiss on the cheek, which is a form of greeting in France.Cannes 2014: Iran Criticises Leila Hatami for Kissing Film Festival President
Ibtimes.co.uk (19 May 2014). Retrieved on 16 October 2015. Iran's Deputy Culture Minister Hossein Noushabadi offered criticism of her for this:

"I hope that those who attend international arenas as
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 ...
ian women would be careful about the chastity and dignity of
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 ...
ians so that the image of the
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 ...
ian woman is not tainted before the world," he said. "If they respect Islamic norms and the national culture and beliefs of Iran, it would be a desirable thing for Iranian celebrities to go abroad, but if their presence lacks regard for social values and ethical criteria, the Iranian nation is not going to accept it."

In May 2014, after receiving significant backlash for the kiss in Iran—including calls for her to be flogged—Hatami later apologized for her actions in a letter.

Full list

* 2001 - Dubai Short Film Festival * 2006 - 41st Karlovy Vary Film Festival – Main competition * 2011 - Marrakech Film Festival * 2011 -

Deauville Film Festival The Deauville American Film Festival () is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, which has taken place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Chouchan, André Halimi, and then Mayor of Deauville Michel d ...

* 2012 -

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. From 2022, the festival was officially recognized as a competitive festival by the Internation ...

* 2012 - Kastendorf Film Festival (Jury President) * 2013 -

Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival The Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (), known for a few years from 2015 as Antalya International Film Festival, is a film festival, held annually since 1963 in Antalya, and is the second most important film festival in Turkey. Since 2009, t ...

* 2014 - 67th Cannes Film Festival – Main competition * 2022 - Vesoul Film Festival of Asian Cinema (Jury President) * 2022 - 79th Venice Film Festival – Main competition

Personal life

She married her co-star in '' Leila'' ( Ali Mosaffa) in 1998. They have two children: a son named Mani (born February 2007) and a daughter named Asal (born October 2008). Beside her native

Persian language Persian ( ), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision ...

she is fluent in French, English, and German.

Filmography

Film

Web

Television

Awards and nominations

International Awards

Iranian Awards

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatami, Leila 1972 births Iranian television actresses Iranian film actresses Actresses from Tehran Living people Silver Bear for Best Actress winners Iranian expatriates in Switzerland Iranian child actresses 20th-century Iranian actresses 21st-century Iranian actresses Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress winners École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne alumni