Leila Hatami

Awardwinning actress Leila Hatami was born on October 1 1972 in Tehran Iran to legendary Iranian Director Ali Hatami and actress mother Zari Khoshkam Zahra Hatami During her childhood she appeared in several of her fathers films including the historical TV series Hezar dastan 1978 and biopic Kamalolmolk 1984 as well as a role as Leila the blind Turkish princess in the film The Lovestricken 1992 After completing high school she moved to Lausanne Switzerland and started her studies in Electronic Engineering However after two years she changed her major to French Literature She completed her studies in a couple of years and moved back to Iran After a pause in her film career of a few years which included her studies in Switzerland she made her professional entry into cinema with Dariush Mehrjui s film Leila 1997 as the title character Her performance in the film received rave reviews from critics and audiences worldwide She also received the Diploma of Honor for Best Actress from the 15th Fajr Film Festival Later she married her costar Ali Mosaffa in 1999 They now have two children a son named Mani born February 2007 and a daughter named Asal born October 2008 To date Hatami has worked with some of the most celebrated Iranian directors Moreover her performance in The Deserted Station 2002 won the Best Actress award from the 26th Montreal World Film Festival She also appeared in her husbands directorial debut film Portrait of a Lady Far Away 2005 In 2011 she won the prestigious Silver Berlin Bear award at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival for the Best Actress in a Leading Role in Asghar Farhadi s internationally acclaimed film A Separation 2011