Azita had long dreamed of becoming an actress but her strict cultural upbringing prevented her from ever speaking her truth...
Cultural Diversity Roster
Find a Presenter
speaker
Azita Ghanizada
Afghan American Actress, Political Refugee & Activist
Categories :
[Sassy_Social_Share]
Bio
Full Bio
Azita, a political asylum seeker, arrived in Hollywood with an incredible story of cultural backlash. She and her family fled Afghanistan to the United States and gained asylum in Virginia to escape the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Having learned English watching TV, Azita had long dreamed of becoming an actress but her strict cultural upbringing prevented her from ever speaking her truth. Upon graduating from University, she bought a one-way ticket to Hollywood and never looked back. She quickly began appearing on several hit TV shows, and alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest talents. Soon, she became one of the first Afghan-Americans to lead a TV series in the USA. Refusing to play into Hollywood tropes for actors of Middle Eastern and South Asian decent on a regular basis, Azita’s path soon revealed that in order to see real movement and true unbiased representation for her community, she would have to disrupt Hollywood from the inside.
In 2016, she founded MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition (MAAC) to advocate and educate within the entertainment industry on behalf of Middle Eastern North African (MENA) performers and challenge the unnecessary stereotypes MENA performers endure. In 2017, she successfully lobbied SAG-AFTRA to include Middle Eastern North African (MENA) as its own diverse casting category. The first time in 37 years a new diversity category has been introduced into the TV/Theatrical contracts in Hollywood. In 2018, MAAC presented the first-ever study of Middle Eastern and North African performers on TV highlighting the lack of representation for MENA on PrimeTime TV, titled Terrorists & Tyrants.
As an actor, Azita is best known for her work alongside David Strathairn, Malik Yoba and Mahershali Ali as a primary cast member of the American Syfy Channel series Alphas. After the cancellation of Alphas, Azita went on to film the feature, Complete Unknown, opposite Michael Shannon and Rachel Weisz. Complete Unknown premiered at 2016’s Sundance Film Festival, where Azita was named “One of the Seven Must Know Actresses of Sundance,” (2016). In 2017, she filmed Killroy Was Here the third and final installment of director Kevin Smith’s horror trilogy and most recently wrapped a supporting role in The Friend (2020), opposite Casey Affleck. A few of her notable television guest-starring roles include How I Met Your Mother, Entourage, Veronica Mars, The Mentalist, Psych, Castle, Up All Night, 9-1-1. She recently recurred on HBO’s Ballers and is can currently be seen on the upcoming season of Good Trouble.
Azita actively speaks on representation and inclusion issues in the media, on social media, in business environments and on industry panels. In December of 2019, she gave her first TEDxTalk at TedxNashville’s “Bold & Brilliant Women” conference. She is also an impassioned advocate for women’s rights, by co-hosting UNHCR fundraiser for World Refugee Day; or serving as a Global Ambassador for womenforwomen.org.
Check Availability
Topics
Topics
From Refugee to the Red Carpet: An Evening with Azita Ghanizada
The Grace of a Nation
The Middle Eastern Woman You Don’t Get to See: Shining a Spotlight on Diversity
Videos
Videos
How I discovered my purpose from watching television | Azita Ghanizada | TEDxNashvilleWomen
Overcoming Stereotypes - Azita Ghanizada
Books
Please Contact Us For More Information
News
Please Contact Us For More Information
