Bahar Soomekh

Bahar was born in Tehran, Iran, to a devout Persian-Jewish family.^[1][2] She moved with her parents and sister, Saba Soomekh, to Los Angeles, California, United States in 1979 during the Islamic Revolution of Iran.^[1][3][4] Soomekh attended Sinai Akiba Academy and Beverly Hills High School.^[5][6]

Bahar later attended the University of California, Santa Barbara.^[2] She graduated in 1997 with a B.A. in environmental studies.^[2]

After graduating from UCSB, Soomekh worked in motivational sales while taking acting classes.^[5][6] At the beginning of her acting career, Soomekh guest starred on several television programs, including JAG and 24. She ultimately quit her day job to pursue acting full-time and landed her role in Crash less than three months later.^[5][6]

Soomekh's breakthrough role came as Dorri in the Academy Award-winning movie for Best Picture, Crash. Following her success in Crash, People magazine listed Soomekh as a member of the Class of 2006 as "New on the Scene".^[7] She followed up with roles in Syriana and Mission: Impossible III. In 2006, she had a leading role as Dr. Lynn Denlon in the horror film Saw III. Soomekh had a recurring role as Margo in the television series Day Break and guest appearances on shows such as Ghost Whisperer and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Her last film role was in Just like a Woman, released in 2012.

After the Southern California area experienced the loss of film industry jobs to other locations, Soomekh decided to pursue a real estate career to remain close to her family.^[8][9]

Bahar married Clayton Frech in 2001.^[2] The couple have three children.^[2] One of their children, Ezra Frech, was born without most of his left leg (missing a knee and fibula) and missing fingers on his left hand. He was a double gold medalist at the 2024 Summer Paralympics^[10] and was named as a finalist for the 2014 Sports Illustrated SportsKid of the Year.^[11][12][13]