Shazi Raja – Biography, Family, Facts About The Actress

Shazi Raja – Biography, Family, Facts About The Actress

It is not every day that you easily come across an actor or an actress of Shazi Raja’s racial and cultural background doing well in the entertainment industry. Shazi Raja and a few others like her have proven that, against all odds, talent is the main determinant of success in the fast-paced Hollywood industry.

She first gave the public a tip of the iceberg about what she is capable of doing as an actress in the HBO television series titled High Maintenance. In the series, she portrayed Eesha. Then came her role as Ananya in the comedy-drama film Brad’s Status. It was this latter role that made her a household name in the entertainment industry as well as earned her multiple roles in other film and television projects.

Suffice it to say that Shazi Raja’s acting gigs have made her famous, however, there is more to her which we will satiate you within the ensuing paragraphs.

Shazi Raja – Biography

Shazi Raja is an American actress who is originally from Rawalpindi, Pakistan as reports have it. She is therefore of South Asian ethnicity while her nationality is American. The actress was born and raised in Houston, Texas where she was known with her birth name  Alina Sheherzad Akhtar Raja.

Growing up, Shazi’s childhood story is not too different from that of many other thespians. She got interested in art from a tender age and was hardly ever missing in her school’s art programs. This passion she had for arts was not one that would die off as she got older, rather she even chose to pursue a formal college education in Fine Arts majoring in acting. Shazi Raja studied at Rutgers University and subsequently graduated from The State University of New Jersey with a degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting).

Raja’s first recorded professional acting work, post-college, was her role as Talisha in the Huntington Theatre Company production of Kirsten Greenidge’s Milk Like Sugar. Her performance on stage here earned her the Best Actress award from the Independent Reviewers of New England.

Afterward, she secured a role as a cast member on the HBO TV Series, High Maintenance in 2016. On the series, Shazi Raja played the character of Eesha in just 2 episodes but as it turned out, that was actually all that she needed to leave film directors, television directors, and the general TV-watching public asking to see more of her.

Shazi Raja – Biography, Family, Facts About The Actress
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The Pakistani-born American actress expanded her acting portfolio to include the 2017 American comedy-drama film Brad’s Status. In fact, when the film director, Mike White met her, he knew in an instant that Shazi Raja was the perfect and natural actress for his Indian-American character, Ananya. In this movie, Shazi had the privilege of working alongside Jemaine Clement, Ben Stiller, Jenna Fischer, Michael Sheen, Luke Wilson, and others.

The following year, Shazi played the leading character of Amanda Neel on the American suspense drama television series Salvation. This was quickly followed by her portrayal of Angela in a horror, thriller film titled The Haunt (2017).

Family

With regards to her family, reports have it that her parents are South Asian immigrants to the United States. However, none of these reports were able to give a verifiable identity as to who they are; their names, and where they are now. Similarly, there are no reports yet about the actress having a sibling or not. While we will not be in a haste to conclude that she is an only child, we can infer that her family members are happy with the success she is recording in her career.

Facts About Shazi Raja

  • Net Worth

At the moment, Shazi Raja still has a lot of grounds to cover in her career. The good news is that she is doing perfectly well above expectations with each and every new role she takes up. For this, the actress has equally been smiling to her bank. She reportedly earns above $50, 000 annually which puts her net worth above $500,000.

  • Shazi as a Person of Color

There is no gainsaying that Shazi Raja has not faced her own share of discrimination as a person of color. The actress disclosed that she felt out of place with herself. She was not brown enough for her brown family nor white enough for her white family. Well, seeing how well she is doing in her career and the acceptance she is gaining, Shazi is possibly living above this hurt now.

  • Relationship

Shazi Raja is reportedly in a relationship with 13 Reasons Why actor – Christian Navarro. The actress gave a hint about their relationship with a birthday message she posted for the actor which read “Happy Birthday baby ily”. However, while we were waiting for either or both of them to confirm the relationship, rumors went round in 2017 that they were no longer together. This came on the heels of a disclosure the actor made while speaking with PopSugar. He told his interviewer that he and his girlfriend (assumably Shazi Raja) broke up in 2017.

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