Photo: Hamed Malekpour / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Leila Hatami fascinates me because her power is restraint. Her performance as Simin in A Separation won the Silver Bear without a single raised voice, and that quiet devastation is harder to pull off than any histrionics. I admire that a Tehran-born actress with an engineering education from Switzerland chose to anchor her career inside Iranian cinema rather than chase Hollywood, even after receiving the Legion of Honour. To me she represents a kind of intellectual stillness on screen, the rare performer who can shift how you see the world in a single film. I find her one of the most quietly authoritative actors working today.
Overview
Leila Hatami (Persian: لیلا حاتمی; born 1 October 1972) is an Iranian actress. Regarded as amongst the finest actresses of Iranian cinema and one of the most prominent performers in the 21st century, she is recognized for her realistic acting in drama films; gaining international fame for her role as Simin in Academy Award-winning film A Separation (2011), for which she received the Silver Bear for Best Actress.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Leila Hatami
- Name (Japanese)
- レイラ・ハタミ
- Reading
- れいら・はたみ
- Born
- October 1, 1972 (age 53)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Rat
- Origin
- Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- film actor / film director / actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 2020 Knight of the Legion of Honour
- 2011 Silver Bear for Best Actress
- 2022 Honorary Cyclo d'or
- 2017 Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress
- 2009 Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress
- 1997 Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress
- 2002 Montreal World Film Festival for Best Actress
- 2012 FIPRESCI Award for Best Actress at the Palm Springs International Film Festival
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Film actor — see all → · Film director — see all → · More people from Iran →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.