Elnaaz Norouzi

Elnaaz Norouzi was born in Tehran, Iran. Shortly after her birth, her family moved to Hanover, Germany.^[4] Norouzi has German citizenship.^[5] She started working as an actress when she was fourteen. She went to school, while weekend photoshoots became a daily occurrence for her. She travelled around Asia and Europe until she was 19. After graduating from the Goetheschule in Hanover, she decided to move to India.^[6]

She started her career as a model at the age of 14 in Germany.^[7] In 2017, she made her debut in Pakistani film Maan Jao Na, playing the role of a young girl Raania.^[8] She entered the Indian film industry by playing the role of Zoya in Netflix Bollywood web series Sacred Games.^[9] Later, Norouzi worked in many movies and series, including Hello Charlie, Chutzpah, Tehran, Abhay, Khido Khundi and Made in Heaven.^[10][11]

She performed a dance number in Rashtra Kavach Om and JugJugg Jeeyo, produced by Karan Johar.^[12] In July 2022, she made her singing debut with 'La La Love'.^[13] She marks special appearance in the Marathi song "Hridayi Vasant Phultana", an item number from the Malind Kavde's directorial 2022 film Takatak 2.^[14]

In June 2025, she entered as contestant in the Prime Video's The Traitors and she was eliminated on Day 7 and placed 11th.^[15]

Elnaaz Norouzi was born in Iran.^[16] Her family shifted to Germany, where she grew up and spent her teenage years.^[17] In 2015, she found a new home in India.^[18] Norouzi can speak English, German, French, Persian, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu, which has helped her to act in various film industries.^[19]

In 2018, she accused director Vipul Shah of sexual harassment.^[20][21]

During the Mahsa Amini protests in 2022, Norouzi voiced support for the protests against the forced head covering.^[22] To support the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, which denounced the Government of Iran and the Islamic religious police, Norouzi posted a video of herself stripping down to being topless.^[23] In January 2026 she released her song "Javid Shah"^[24] in support of the 2025–2026 Iranian protests and Reza Pahlavi.