“I look at the roles I play from a spiritual level,” says actress Sarah Shahi about her role on The L-Word. “I want everything I do to have meaning, to make a difference in people’s lives.”
Since her 2-season run on the hit Showtime show, the actress has graced Hollywood with a wide range of performances, from Person of Interest to Kevin Bacon’s recent crime drama, City on a Hill.
But Shahi never forgot the role that gave her her big break – a role she will now reprise in an upcoming sequel of The L-Word.
Sarah Shahi became a fan-favorite on The L Word
Shahi’s career began as an extra on the set of Dr. T and the Women in Texas. At the behest of director Robert Altman, she moved to Hollywood and received roles in various well-known series, such as Dawson’s Creek and Supernatural. In 2005, she joined The L-Word as a recurring character, Carmen. Carmen quicly became a fan-favorite, inspiring pushback when she left the show after 2 seasons.
Afterwards, Shahi has spanned genres with her career. She starred in NBC’s Life, Reverie, and had recurring roles in Person of Interest and Chicago Fire.
But Shahi considers The L-Word the true beginning of her career “To be part of that, I don’t think I ever really knew what I was stepping into until after and I started speaking to women and getting letters,” she says. As the first ensemble cast on American television representing the LGBTQ community, Shahi had a hand in one of recent history’s most celebrated yet controversial shows.
A tough childhood and strong mother inspire Sarah Shahi
Shahi’s given name is Aahoo, which means “Gazelle” in her native Persian. However, she started going by “Sarah” as a child to avoid bullying. Her father hails from Iran, and her mother from Spain, of Spanish and Iranian ancestry. Her father fled Iran two years after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 after being condemned to execution. In fact, Shahi is a descendant of the pre-Pahlavi Qajar Dynasty of Iran. However, her parents split when she was young and as a child, she was often in and out of women’s shelter’s with her mother.
Shahi has been in the public eye since the tender age of eight years old. At this time, her parents entered her into a beauty pageant. Then, as an adult, Shahi won the Miss Fort Worth pageant in 1997 and decided to become a cheerleader to boost the possibility of an acting career. From 1999 to 2000, she joined the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, an NFL cheering squad that represents the Dallas Cowboys.
She cites her mother as an inspiration to keep working hard to achieve her dreams. “She raised us with a lot of confidence, hard work, and love,” Shahi recalls. “That’s what I got, so that’s what I am.”
The L-Word reboot immediately reprised Carmen
The L-Word received mixed reviews, from praise for the representation it provided to criticism regarding the attitude with which it approached some of the diversity and the melodrama in the show. The show did win multiple awards, such as the Satellite Award, and nominations for the GLAAD Media Awards and the NAACP Image Awards. For the upcoming re-boot, Shahi was considered from the get-go.
“This was something that was brought up in a discussion [with the original cast members] last year,” Shahi told reporters about the reboot, “the girls were talking to me about it, and my involvement was discussed very heavily and that I would be in it. I think they want to keep it that way, and so does Showtime.”
Furthermore, Shahi remarks that the atmosphere in the cast was wonderful, and she is excited to return. “To be part of that sisterhood was so momentous for me,” she says. “I’m more than honored that I can go back and re-create it.”
In addition to the reboot of The L-Word, Shahi will soon star in Netflix’s Sex/Life, a dramedy about a suburban mother stuck in a love triangle. Although the show is not out yet, you can set a reminder on Netflix here.
