The Iranian-Spanish beauty Sarah Shahi is a descendant of a 19th-century king, which surely explains her inclinations toward fame. A former beauty pageant winner in Texas, she studied opera and English at Southern Methodist University before becoming a cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys and gracing the cover of their 2000 calendar.
A meeting with the late director Robert Altman sent her to Hollywood, and roles on Alias and Dawson's Creek soon followed. She went on to play DJ Carmen de la Pica Morales on The L Word for three seasons, then Sarah Shahi left the show for her current television home on NBC's Life.
Many actors are lucky to create one TV character who can stick with audiences. Sarah Shahi is working on her second one. As ex-drug-addict-turned-cop Dani Reese on Life, she blends Dani's faults with her own to create an unflinchingly realistic character. This girl's got talent.
Sarah Shahi isn't difficult to look at, either. Maxim featured her in its 2005 and 2006 Hot 100 lists, and she made the top 5 of AfterEllen.com's 2007 hot list. Sarah Shahi will attract attention on the small screen on Life in 2009, and will heat up the big screen as a stripper in an as-yet-untitled murder mystery.