Sheila Vand

An American actress and performance artist, Sheila Vand grew up in Palo Alto, California, and trained in acting and directing at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. She originated the role of Hadia in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo in 2009 and brought that role to Broadway in 2011 opposite Robin Williams. In 2010 she introduced her performance piece Sneaky Nietzsche, which LACMA commissioned her to remount in 2011. Vand portrayed Sahar, an Iranian housekeeper, in Ben Affleck's Argo, work the Los Angeles Times highlighted, and received a SAG Outstanding Ensemble Award in 2013. She plays the title figure in A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, a 2014 Sundance premiere, and worked with Ana Lily Amirpour on Pashmaloo. On television, she had a regular role in the short-lived NBC series State of Affairs and appeared in a 2015 episode of Minority Report.