THE MESSENGER FROM HEAVEN (IRENE ZAZIANS) 2026

Irene Zazians born August 20th, 1927, was an Iranian cinema and television actor often referred to as Ava Gardner of Iran. Irene was born to an Armenian family who had escaped to north of Iran after the Armenian genocide in 1915. Irene was the fourth child and the only survivor of her siblings. In 1941 she joined the Ferdowsi performing in plays such as Oscar Wilde’s ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan” where she met and married her first husband at age 16, he was the actor/ poet and a member of Iran’s communist party, Mohammad Asemi, she later married director and producer, Shahrokh Rafi which also ended in divorce.

After some years in theatre she joined the cinema industry in 1958, acting in her first film “The Man who Suffered” directed by Mohammad Ali Jafari and in the same year “Awaited” by Ataollah Zahed. The title of this painting comes from her third film “The Messenger from Heaven” 1959, directed by Samuel Khachikian, also an Iranian Armenian. This film was the first time a female character appeared in a bikini, at the time Iranian women could not act in revealing clothes, but since Irene was of a Christian, she did not have that limitation. The film caused an uproar and after four days screening it was edited five times for its taboo scenes. In an interview Irene declared that Iranian cinema was in rivalry with Hollywood and Bollywood movies and the pressure fell on the female actors to compete with stars like Marylin Monroe and Sophia Loren to pull punters to cinema, so women were asked to be sexier and alluring. She was a very prolific actor and worked with well-known Iranian New Wave Cinema directors such as Samuel Khachikian, Amir Naderi, Nosrat Karimi and Abbas Kiarostami. Zazians also appeared in four TV series, her most popular was the portrayal of Mahde Olya (Nasereddin Shah's mother) in Soltan-e Sahebgheran directed by Ali Hatami in 1976. Her role in Hezar Dastan, another series directed by Ali Hatami, was cut out entirely.

After the 1979 revolution like many of her contemporaries she was banned from taking part in any artistic activities. Her role in “Hezar Dastan” 1988 , another series directed by Ali Hatami, was cut out entirely and her two films in 1984, The Red Line directed by Kimiyayi and The Reward by Davood Nejad, were banned by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

She travelled to Germany to visit her sister, where she re-trained as a beautician. She returned to Iran in 1986, during the Iran-Iraq War. Her last performance in cinema was in’ Shirin’ in 2008, a film by Abbas Kiarostami. She died of lung cancer on July 28th 2012 in Tehran. Among her most acclaimed and controversial roles was the portrayal of a traditional Iranian Muslim woman in Mohallel, in 1974, for which she was nominated for a Sepas Award. Zazians suffered lung cancer in the last decade of her life. She had three surgeries and was working less, she died on July 28, 2012, in Tehran. She is buried in the Armenian cemetery, southeast Tehran.
In this painting Irene is sitting on a sofa the pattern behind her mimics a Christian halo hinting at the title of a heavenly messenger an innocent victim of a patriarchal society that cut her beloved acting career too short.