Necar Zadegan ( fa, نکار زادگان ; born June 20, 1982) is an American actress with a prolific career on stage and screen. Zadegan made her Broadway debut alongside

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

in the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

–nominated production ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' in 2011. She is known for playing First Lady (and then President) Dalia Hassan on the eighth season of '' 24'' then leading in the roles of Delia Banai on ''

Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce ''Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce'' (also known as ''Girlfriends' Guide to Freedom'' in season 3, ''Girlfriends' Guide to Bossing Up'' in season 4, and ''Girlfriends' Guide to Ever After'' in season 5) is an American comedy-drama television series ...

'' and Special Agent Hannah Khoury on '' NCIS: New Orleans''.

Early life

Zadegan was born on June 20, 1982 in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, West Germany, and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is of Iranian heritage. Zadegan graduated with honors from the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

(UCSB) with a BA degree in Literature. She spent a semester abroad at the

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon ...

. She speaks Persian (Farsi), French, English, and German fluently.

Career

From 2005 to 2009, Zadegan amassed a number of television credits namely ''

The Bernie Mac Show ''The Bernie Mac Show'' (often shortened to ''Bernie Mac'' in syndication) is an American sitcom television series created by Larry Wilmore, that aired on Fox for five seasons from November 14, 2001 to April 14, 2006. The series featured Bernie ...

'', ''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

'', '' NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service'', ''

The Unit ''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009 with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled aft ...

'', ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his ...

'', '' Big Shots'', ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'', ''

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt poli ...

'', and ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...

''. In 2009, Zadegan appeared in the Persian language stage production of ''From Satellite with Love "Az Mahvareh Ta Eshgh"'', touring in the U.S. and Europe.Interview with Necar Zadegan – Hollywood (September 25, 2009)
Parstimes.com In 2009 Zadegan of 'The Leper' in

Rajiv Joseph Rajiv Joseph (born June 16, 1974) is an American playwright. He was named a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'', and he won an Obie Award for Best New American Play for his play ''Descri ...

's ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'', which moved to Broadway in 2011. The same year she portrayed the First Lady turned president, Dalia Hassan, in the FOX series “24”. Zadegan appeared in the 2010 film ''Elena Undone'' in the title role of Elena Winters for FilmMcQueen. That same year she also appeared opposite Michael Sheen and Samuel L. Jackson in the role of Jehan Younger in the ''Columbia Tri Star'' psychological thriller ''

Unthinkable ''Unthinkable'' is a 2010 American thriller film directed by Gregor Jordan and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Sheen and Carrie-Anne Moss. It was released direct-to-video on June 14, 2010. The film is noteworthy for the controversy it genera ...

''. Zadegan returned to television as resident villainess Isabel on the NBC series ''The Event''. She then took on the series regular role of Dr. Gina Bandari on the 2012 series '' Emily Owens M.D.'' She appeared as Scarlet Leon, the female lead, opposite Greg Kinnear in the 2014 American version of the comedy ''

Rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

''. Later that same year she rounded out the all female-lead cast for Bravo's first scripted series ''

'' in the role of Delia Banai. The show went on to be the first ever to get a three-season pickup and ran for five seasons before premiering its final season in Spring 2018. In 2015 Zadegan continued to appear in other television roles such as ''

Extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

'', ''

Legends A legend is a historical narrative, a symbolic representation of folk belief. Legend(s) or The Legend(s) may also refer to: Narrative * Urban legend, a widely repeated story of dubious truth * A fictitious identity used in espionage Books, co ...

'' and as the Queen of Iran opposite Michael Sheen for Showtime's critical success ''

Masters of Sex ''Masters of Sex'' is an American period drama television series that premiered on September 29, 2013, on Showtime. It was developed by Michelle Ashford and loosely based on Thomas Maier's biography ''Masters of Sex''. Set in the 1950s through t ...

''. Zadegan joined the cast of '' NCIS: New Orleans'' in October 2018 playing the role of Special Agent Hannah Khoury, the senior agent in the NCIS New Orleans office. Zadegan played the role of Ra-Sharir in the first two episodes of season 3 of

Documentary Now! ''Documentary Now!'' is an American mockumentary television series, created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas, that premiered on August 20, 2015, on IFC. Armisen and Hader star in many episodes, and Thomas and Alex Buono ...

for IFC.

Filmography

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zadegan, Necar 1982 births 21st-century American actresses Actresses from California Actresses from San Francisco Female models from California American film actresses American people of Iranian descent American stage actresses American television actresses German emigrants to the United States Living people University of California, Santa Barbara alumni German people of Iranian descent