Sarah Shahi

'Sarah Shahi' (qv) was born Aahoo Jahansouz Shahi in Euless, Texas, to an Iranian father and Spanish mother. She is a former NFL cheerleader and a descendant of a 19th-century Persian Shah. She attended Trinity High School and Dallas Southern Methodist University, studied opera and majored in English. As a teenager, she won several beauty contests and took first place in the Miss Fort Worth USA pageant in 1997. She joined the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and was part of the 1999-2000 squad. She also appeared on the cover of their 2000 calendar.While working as an extra on the set of _Dr. T & the Women (2000)_ (qv), she met director 'Robert Altman' (qv), who encouraged her to move to Hollywood to pursue a career as an actress. Shahi was the first ghost in _Supernatural (2005)_ (qv), the CW paranormal drama series. She had recurring roles in several TV series, such as _Alias (2001)_ (qv), in which she played "Jenny"; and _Dawson's Creek (1998)_ (qv), where she was "Sadia Shaw". She became a fan favorite in her role as the Mexican-American DJ "Carmen de la Pica Morales" in the Showtime series, _The L Word (2004)_ (qv), which she joined in its second season. Sarah did not renew her contract with the show for a fourth season and, consequently, her character was written out.However, she is best-known for her main role as "Sameen Shaw" on the CBS show _Person of Interest (2011)_ (qv) playing a CIA agent turned-vigilante with a heart of gold.She also appeared on HBO's _The Sopranos (1999)_ (qv), in the episode _The Sopranos: Kennedy and Heidi (2007)_ (qv) as "Sonya Aragon", a stripper and a college student who spends a weekend with Tony after a death in his family. Although uncredited by most sources, Sarah also appeared in the 'Jackie Chan' (qv) film, _Rush Hour 3 (2007)_ (qv), as one of the girls being handcuffed along with 'Mia Tyler' (qv) for a traffic offense by 'Chris Tucker' (qv) early in the film. She also starred with 'Damian Lewis' (qv) in the NBC show, _Life (2007)_ (qv).Sarah speaks English, Farsi, and some Spanish, and has a brown belt in karate.::Jamiee M