Hollywood superstardom may have brutally exiled him from his home in Iran, but Golshifteh Farahani never looked back.
From explicit film scenes to nude modeling shoots, the actress quickly rose to fame after breaking the shackles of Tehran’s age-old rules regarding women and is now in the news again over claims that she was sent flirty messages by French President Emmanuel Macron. But how did she become the woman at the center of Macron and wife Brigitte’s explosive plane controversy?
Now one of Iran’s biggest movie stars, despite being banned from the country nearly 20 years ago, Golshifteh, 42, has captured the attention of many people around the world.
President Macron is the most powerful person associated with Golshifteh, as he was accused of being in a “platonic love affair”.
An explosive new book claims flirty messages sent from Macron to a French-Iranian actress and activist were seen by a spying first lady.
According to a top French journalist attempting to cover Brigitte and Emmanuel’s marriage, one text read, “You are so beautiful”.
The claims relate to the infamous moment Brigitte punched her husband in the jaw in front of dozens of cameras in South Korea last year.
Florian Tardif, political editor of Paris Match magazine, suggests in his new book, A (Nearly) Perfect Couple, that Brigitte saw a message for Golshifteh during the trip.
He told RTL radio: “The French president had an affair with the actress for several months. The messages he showed me were quite advanced in the style of ‘You are very beautiful’.”
“These messages caused tension that ended with the private feud becoming public.”
It is unclear where the pair first met, but in September 2022, Macron met with several Iranian activists to discuss the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement.
As a vocal advocate for Iranian women’s rights, Farahani frequently participates in state-supported cultural initiatives.
Brigitte’s representatives immediately denied the latest allegations, stating take acrossIsien That the first lady never looks at her husband’s phone.
The shocking affair claims are not the first time the world’s eyes are on Golshifteh.
He was formally exiled from his native Iran under the repressive regime of the Ayatollahs following the release of the film Body of Lies in 2008.
The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance criticized Golshifteh for not wearing a headscarf in the film or at world premieres and red carpet shoots.
Ridley The Scott thriller saw her starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe and became the first Iranian actress to get a role in a Hollywood film since the 1979 revolution.
Iranian officials also said that Golshifteh was helping create American propaganda through the film.
After being deported, Golshifteh moved to Paris but remained a bankable Hollywood star.
Her top roles since then include Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge in 2017 and the Netflix hit Extraction alongside Chris Hemsworth in 2020.
The Iranian actress’s sexiest scenes were revolutionary for a woman who grew up under such an oppressive regime, sending shockwaves throughout her country.
In Patience Stone, her most sexually charged film, Golshifteh plays a woman who confesses her deepest sexual fantasies to her unconscious husband.
Her character then begins a new relationship with a nervous young soldier, for whom she acts as a sex teacher in intimate scenes.
In the 2015 romantic comedy Two Friends, Golshifteh plays the lead role as she searches for a lover after being released from prison.
Who is Golshifteh Farahani?
Golshifteh Farahani is one of Iran’s most famous but divisive actresses after being exiled by the regime nearly two decades ago.
The 42-year-old Irani became famous all over the world after leaving cinema and reaching Hollywood.
Her biggest roles include Ridley Scott’s Body of Lies (2008) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge (2017) and the Netflix hit Extraction (2020).
Her leading role in Body of Lies alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe caused a furor in her hometown of Tehran.
Iranian authorities banned her from returning to the country after claims she was helping create American propaganda.
He also said that she had violated Islamic law because Golshifteh was not wearing a hijab.
Since moving to France, Golshifteh has taken over Hollywood.
He has acted in several raunchy film scenes, including Two Friends (2015).
And she posed nude for the French magazine Egoiste, as she sent a message of defiance back home.
She told the magazine: “France has set me free.
“This is the only place in the world where women don’t feel guilty. In the East, you’re guilty all the time.”
Since leaving the Middle East, his popularity has increased and he now has over 15.6 million followers on Instagram.
She was married to Frenchman Louis Garrel in 2012 but they divorced after two years.
Many of his other relationships have been private from the public.
Desperate to impress, she is filmed naked in several scenes, including in bed and in the shower.
Throughout his career, Golshifteh has regularly used his fame to promote activism – including hitting back at Tehran.
She once posed nude for the French magazine Egoiste to send a message of defiance to her country.
Golshifteh told the magazine, “France has liberated me. It’s the only place in the world where women don’t feel guilty.”
And she didn’t stop there, exposing her breasts in a promotional video for the 2012 Cesars, the French version of the Oscars.
The black and white footage showed several movie stars staring into the camera, each of whom took off their clothes.
Golshifteh exposed her right breast and said: “I will make your dreams come true.“
Golshifteh told later Guardian: “For the first time in my life I appreciated being a woman.
“Paris is a city that frees you as a woman from all the sins you feel guilty for; it washes them all away, and you are free.”
