Pooya Mohseni
Iranian-American actress
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pooya Mohseni is an Iranian-American actress and LGBTQ rights activist. She has appeared in various television series including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Madam Secretary, and The Walking Dead: Dead City. In film, she appeared in the slasher film Terrifier (2016) and starred in See You Then (2021), the latter of which garnered her critical acclaim.
Personal life and career
Mohseni was born in Tehran, Iran, and moved to New York City, U.S., at the age of 18.[1] She studied design in New York and later became an actress.[2]
Mohseni has spoken about the harassment and discrimination she faced in Iran, including several suicide attempts due to her identity as a transgender woman.[3] She also revealed that she faced significant discrimination in the United States as a transgender Iranian immigrant. After the legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.S. in 2015, she publicly came out as transgender.[3] She is fluent in both Persian and English and is an active advocate for LGBTQ rights, as well as a vocal supporter of immigrant and women's issues.[4] She also contributes to writing and consulting on LGBTQ-centric stories.[5][6]
She has appeared as a guest on several TV shows including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Falling Water, Madam Secretary, and Big Dogs on Amazon Prime Video. In 2016, she appeared in the independent slasher film Terrifier.[7][8] In 2021, she starred in the drama See You Then.[9][10][11] Critical reviews highlighted her performance.[12][13][14] In 2022, she wrote and starred in the 18-minute short film Transit: A New York City Fairytale.[15] That year, she appeared in the Sanaz Toossi play English.[16][17] In 2025, she appeared in three episodes of The Walking Dead: Dead City.[18][19] She has contributed her voice to multiple video games including Destiny 2: The Final Shape and Hellboy: Web of Wyrd.[20][21]
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | So Damn Funny Show | Trainee; Bitchy Boss | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Celebrity Ghost Stories | Nadine's Mom | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Below the Line | Mina | 1 episode |
| 2014 | Jus' Sayin' Productions | Mom | 1 episode |
| 2015 | Madam Secretary | Samilia Mahdavi | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Falling Water | Dr. Duria | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | The Four Letter Word | Ghazal | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Grosse Misconduct | Alicia Castile | 6 episodes |
| 2020 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Judge Namazi | 1 episode |
| 2020 | Big Dogs | Baijanti Divya | 5 episodes |
| 2020–2021 | Rival Peak | Winter | 12 episodes |
| 2021 | High Herstory | The Storyteller | 1 episode |
| 2021 | Tawkin' with the Roses | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2025 | The Walking Dead: Dead City | Roksana | 3 episodes |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | When Death Calls | Lorraine Castro | |
| 2014 | Bloody Subway Party | Daisy | |
| 2014 | Subways | Stephanie | |
| 2015 | Brutal Colors | Mysterious | |
| 2015 | Giorgio Bush and the B-people | Bank representative | |
| 2015 | Before the Snow | Nitya | |
| 2016 | Lucky | Prisca | |
| 2016 | Terrifier | Cat Lady | |
| 2017 | Ghost Source Zero | Newscaster | |
| 2017 | My Brother's Keeper | Madeline | |
| 2019 | Theresa & Allison | The Mysterious Woman | |
| 2020 | Lapsis | Noori Capahardi | |
| 2020 | Thorp | Frannie | |
| 2021 | See You Then | Kris Ahadi | |
| 2021 | I See You and You See Me | Sarah | |
| 2021 | Less Than or Equal To | Bailey | |
| 2022 | Remote | Ramesh | |
| 2022 | Entanglement | Allie | |
| 2023 | Nightmare Radio: The Night Stalker | Eartha | |
| 2023 | The Arrival | Jayce Fisher | |
| 2023 | Bound | Yeva | |
| 2024 | Heather | Heather |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Horizon Forbidden West | Ivinna; Sentekka | |
| 2023 | Hellboy: Web of Word | Scheherezade | |
| 2023 | Thirsty Suitors | Sound | |
| 2024 | Destiny 2: The Final Shape | Micah-10 |