Very few child stars successfully transition to become bonafide celebrities but it seems Yara Shahidi has cracked the code. The beautiful American actress and singer are best known for her roles as a young Oliva Pope on Scandal and as Zoey Johnson, on Black-ish. She reprised her role as Zoey Johnson on the Black-ish spinoff on FreeForm, Grown-ish, which was a critical and commercial hit for the network and for the star herself. She has since gone on to appear in Drake‘s critically acclaimed music video, Nice For What.
Yara Shahidi is also known for being intelligent, articulate, well-informed, and on the path to greatness, based on her interviews and the fact she got a recommendation letter from Michelle Obama for Harvard University.
Yara Shahidi: Bio & Age
Yara Sayeh Shahidi was born on the 10th of February 10, 2000, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her name ‘Yara’ is of Persian origin and it means “someone who is capable to do something hard”.
From a young age, Yara got involved in modeling and built a successful career for herself. She has since evolved into an actress with name recognition all around the world.
Ethnicity & Religion
Yara Shahidi is of mixed ethnicity with her mother – Keri Salter Shahidi – being of Choctaw and African American descent while her father, Afshin Shahidi, is of Iranian descent.
Yara has joined the league of well-known celebrities of mixed ethnicity who are trailblazing all over Hollywood.
As of now, Yara has not spoken publicly about her religious beliefs.
Parents & Family
Yara Shahidi comes from a close-knit and supportive family. Her parents, Afshin and Keri, relocated the family to California when Yara was just four years old for her father’s career as a photographer. She has two younger brothers – Sayeed and Ehsan. Sayeed followed his big sister’s footsteps and entered the entertainment industry becoming an actor and model. He is best known for his roles in Switched At Birth, The Event, and The First Family.
She is also related to the American rapper, Nas – who is her cousin.
Career Beginnings And Breakthrough
Yara got her career started when she was only six years old by appearing in many television and print adverts of various companies including The Children’s Place, Ralph Lauren, Target, McDonald’s, Guess Kids, Gap Kids, and Disney. For most of her adverts and print campaigns, she occasionally worked with her younger brother and her mother.
Next, Yara did what many try to and only a few succeed at – and that is parlaying a successful modeling career into an acting career. She got her acting start in Imagine that, a 2009 comedy starring Eddie Murphy. The film focused on the relationship between Eddie Murphy’s character and his daughter, Olivia (played by Yara) when her imaginary world provides information her father needs to succeed. Though the movie was a box office flop, her performance in the movie was praised, which was why she landed a Young Artist Award nomination for the best performance in a feature film category.
She later appeared in Entourage, The Finder, Salt, Alex Cross, Butter, and Unthinkable. In 2012, she then landed the lead role of Chloe Johnson in the comedy series – The First Family.
Shortly after, she was cast in the ABC comedy Black-ish as Zoey Johnson, alongside Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson. The show had several breakout characters but Yara Shahidi won the hearts and devotion of teenagers around the world and in the process, earned a large and loyal fanbase. She won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in Black-ish. Thanks to her success on the show, the network greenlighted a spinoff series, Grown-ish, around her character which premiered on the 3rd of January, 2018.
She signed on to New York’s Women Management modeling agency, in 2016 with the hopes of seeing more women of color in prominent and diverse roles.
Height, Weight & Body Measurements
There is no doubt that Yara Shahidi has an enviable physique. She currently stands tall at 5 ft 3 in (160 cm) and weighs only 45kgs (99 lbs). Her slim figure can be attributed to her age and as she grows older, there will be noticeable changes in her height, weight, and body measurements.
Her current diet and workout plan are currently unknown but it can be assumed that she puts in the effort to maintain her physique.
Yara Shahidi Net Worth
Yara Shahidi currently has a net worth of $1 million. Considering her age and the fact that she’s at the early stages of a thriving career, that guarantees that the amount will go up in the coming years as she grows older and takes on more prominent roles.
