Yara Shahidi

Yara Sayeh Shahidi (Persian pronunciation: [jɑːɾɑː sɑːje ʃæhiːdiː]; born February 10, 2000) is an American actress, model, and activist. She is best known for starring as Zoey Johnson on the sitcom Black-ish (2014–present) and its spin-off series Grown-ish (2018). 2Early life Shahidi was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to a mother, Keri Salter Shahidi, of African-American and Choctaw descent, and an Iranian-American father, Afshin Shahidi, a photographer. The family moved to California for Afshin's work when Yara was 4. She is the older sister of child actor and model Sayeed Shahidi, and they have a younger brother, Ehsan. The rapper Nas is their cousin. Keri Shahidi said the name Yara translates to "someone who is capable to do something, or someone is so strong and clever to do something hard" in Farsi. On June 6, 2017, Shahidi announced that she will attend Harvard University. 2Career She began her career when she was 6 years old, appearing in television and print advertisements for companies such as McDonald's, Ralph Lauren, Target, GapKids, Disney, Guess Kids and The Children's Place. She frequently worked with her mother and younger brother in various print and broadcast campaign