Mozhan Navabi
Iranian-American actress (born 1979/1980)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mozhan L. Navabi (born 1979/1980) is an Iranian-American film and television actress. She is known for her roles in The Blacklist and House of Cards and played Soraya Manutchehri in The Stoning of Soraya M.. From the 2006 start of her career, she was credited as Mozhan Marnò, but has been credited by her maiden name, Navabi, since a 2024 guest appearance on an episode of Law & Order.
Yale University (MFA)
Mozhan Navabi | |
|---|---|
Navabi in 2015 | |
| Born | 1979/1980 (age 46–47) |
| Other name | Mozhan Marnò |
| Education | Barnard College (BA) Yale University (MFA) |
| Occupations | Actress, writer, director |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Early life and education
Navabi was born in Los Angeles. Her parents are both from Iran and met in California.[1] She was educated at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.[2][3] She received her B.A. in French and German comparative literature from Barnard College of Columbia University and her M.F.A. in acting from the Yale School of Drama.
Personal life
Career
Mozhan Navabi played the title role in the 2008 film The Stoning of Soraya M.,[5] set in Iran, about a woman whose husband falsely accuses her of adultery, resulting in her death by stoning.[4][6] In addition she has had roles in a number of television series including The Paul Reiser Show, The Glades, Hung, The Mentalist, Bones, The Unit, Medium, K-ville, and Standoff. Navabi also appeared in the Untitled John Wells Medical Drama Pilot, which was not aired. She also stars in Ana Lily Amirpour's directorial debut, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, produced by Elijah Wood, under his company, The Woodshed.[4] In 2011, Navabi voiced Mirabelle Ervine, a Breton mage and Master Wizard of the College of Winterhold, in the critically acclaimed video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.[7] She played reporter Ayla Sayyad on seasons 2 and 3 of the acclaimed Netflix series House of Cards, for which she was nominated for a SAG award. She played Mossad agent and assassin Samar Navabi in seasons 2-6 of The Blacklist.[8]
Navabi also directs and writes screenplays. Her first feature-length screenplay, When the Lights Went Out, was a quarter finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship. She adapted When the Lights Went Out as a play and it was mounted at New York Stage and Film in July 2013 starring Laura Innes, and directed by Kate Whoriskey.[4][9] Navabi’s short film, Incoming, which she wrote and directed,[when?] was accepted to the Noor Iranian Film Festival,[citation needed] LA SHORTS FEST,[citation needed] the Asians on Film Festival,[citation needed] and the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival.[citation needed]
In February 2024, Navabi was cast in the Netflix limited series Zero Day, in the recurring role of Melissa Kornblau.[10]
Filmography
Note: credited as Mozhan Marnò from 2006 to 2023, credited as Mozhan Navabi since 2024
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Charlie Wilson's War | Refugee Camp Translator #2 | |
| 2008 | August | Ashley | |
| Traitor | Leyla | ||
| 2009 | The Stoning of Soraya M. | Soraya Manutchehri | |
| StereoLife | Gwendolyn Leeds | Short film | |
| 2010 | Apples | Lucky | Short film (voice role) |
| 2014 | A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night | Atti | |
| 2019 | London Arabia | Mrs. Hassan | Short film |
| Wonder Woman: Bloodlines | Doctor Cyber | Direct-to-video (voice role) | |
| 2021 | iGilbert | Detective Rivera | Last film credit as Mozhan Marnò |
| 2024 | A Chair for Her | Lameece | Short film First film credit as Mozhan Navabi |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Unit | Protocol Chief | Episode: "Security" |
| Standoff | Agnacia | Episode: "Life Support" | |
| 2007 | Shark | Maria Lutrova | Episode: "Gangster Movies" |
| K-Ville | Jodi Mazetta | Episode: "Ride Along" | |
| 2009 | Bones | Azita Jabbari | Episode: "A Night at the Bones Museum" |
| Medium | Rachel | Episode: "The Devil Inside, Part 2" | |
| 2009, 2011 | The Mentalist | Nicki Weymouth | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Hung | Samara | Episode: "The Middle East is Complicated" |
| The Glades | Renee LeFleur | Episode: "Cassadaga" | |
| 2011 | The Paul Reiser Show | Zeba | Recurring role |
| 2012 | Ringer | Marguerite | Episode: "P.S. You're an Idiot" |
| In Plain Sight | Charlotte | Episode: "Sacrificial Lamb" | |
| 2014–2015 | House of Cards | Ayla Sayyad | Recurring role (seasons 2–3) |
| 2014, 2019 | Madam Secretary | Roxanne Majidi | 2 episodes |
| 2014–2022 | The Blacklist | Samar Navabi | Main cast (seasons 2–6), guest episode (season 9) |
| 2019 | The Affair | Petra | Recurring role (season 5) |
| 2021 | Maid | Tara | Limited-run series, 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Pam & Tommy | Gail Chwatsky | Miniseries, recurring role |
| Fleishman Is in Trouble | Nahid | Miniseries, recurring role (last TV credit as Mozhan Marnò) | |
| 2024 | Law & Order | Stacey Dean | Episode: "Unintended Consequences" (first TV credit as Mozhan Navabi) |
| 2025 | Zero Day | Melissa Kornblau | Miniseries, recurring role |
| The Beast in Me | Esme Noor | Miniseries, episode: "Thanatos" |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Mirabelle Ervine, Namira |
| 2016 | 1979 Revolution: Black Friday | Bibi Golestan |
Audio recordings
| Year | Title | Author | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Hausfrau | Jill Alexander Essbaum | Narrator |
| 2016 | The Other Einstein | Marie Benedict | Narrator |
| Missoula | Jon Krakauer | Narrator[11] | |
| The Guest Room | Chris Bohjalian | ||
| 2018 | Song of a Captive Bird | Jasmin Dzarnik | Narrator |
| 2019 | The Stationery Shop | Marjan Kamali | Narrator |
| The Other Americans | Laila Lalami | Nora | |
| 2020 | The Paris Diversion | Chris Pavone | Narrator |
| The Book of Longings | Sue Monk Kidd | Narrator | |
| 2024 | The Perfect Marriage | Jeneva Rose | Narrator |
| 2025 | The Perfect Divorce | Jeneva Rose | Narrator |
| Good Girl | Aria Aber | Narrator |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | The Stoning of Soraya M. | Nominated |
| 2015 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | House of Cards | Nominated |
