The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines

2013 | Biography

Enchanted by the Hollywood movies she watched while growing up in affluent Tehran in the 1950s and 1960s, Shohreh Aghdashloo dreamed of becoming an actress, despite her parents more practical plans. When she fell in love with her husband, Aydin, a painter thirteen years her senior, she made him promise he'd allow her to follow her passion. Filled with hard work and extensive travel throughout Europe and the Middle East, the first years of her marriage were magical. As Shohreh began to build her acclaimed career, Aydin worked for the Minister of Art and Culture, exhibiting his art in Tehran. But in 1978 revolution swept across Iran, toppling the Shah and instilling a new religious regime under the Ayatollah Khomeini. Terrified of the stifling new restrictions on women and art, Shohreh realized that she, too, had to escape. Leaving the man she loved behind, she made her way to Europe and eventually to Hollywood. In this moving memoir, Shohreh shares her story: a tale of privilege and affluence, pain and prejudice, tenacity and success.

She writes poignantly about her struggles as an outsider in a new culture - as a woman, a Muslim, and an Iranian - adopting to a new land and a new language. And she shares behind the scenes stories about what it's really like to be a Hollywood actress - including being snubbed by two of Tinseltown's biggest names on Oscar night. Lyrical and atmospheric, The Alley of Love and Jasmines is a powerful story of ambition, art, politics, terror, and courage - of an extraodinary woman determined to live her dreams.

Shohreh Aghdashloo (Author)