Iran. She has also appeared on BBC World News and CNN International. The Program for Torture Victims awarded Boniadi their 2014 City of Second Chances Award. In 2018, she was selected by People Magazine as one of their '25 Women Changing the World'. In 2020, she received the Freedom House Raising Awareness Award, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In September 2022, she became active during the Mahsa Amini protests, and urged foreign governments to aid the protesters. On October 14, 2022, she met with Vice President Kamala Harris, following the protests in Iran. In an informal session of United Nations Security Council, she denounced as a "myth" the idea that the hijab was a part of Iran's culture. Personal life Boniadi is fluent in English and Persian. She lives in Los Angeles, California. Since she and her parents fled in her infancy, Boniadi has only once visited Iran, as a teenager. Scientology In the mid 2000s, she was a dedicated Scientologist. Her mother had also been a Scientologist. In late 2004 to early 2005, she had a brief relationship with actor Tom Cruise. According to claims in the documentary Going Clear, her acquaintance with Cruise was not accidental and the Church of Scientology prepared and planted her for this role. The Church also vetted her along with dozens of other women as a potential wife for Cruise, but she was not selected. In October 2004, Boniadi was volunteering for the Office of Special Affairs in Los Angeles when she was told by Church official Greg Wilhere that she had been selected for a special project. Boniadi was told that her dental braces had to be removed and that her red hair highlights had to be corrected; she was also encouraged to end her relationship with her longtime boyfriend. She had to sign a confidentiality agreement, stating she could not abandon this special project without the Church's approval. About a month later, after being flown to New York by the church, Boniadi learned that her project was to become a suitable girlfriend for Cruise. She stated in her testimony "at the beginning of the relationship [he] was very romantic but as the relationship progressed he began to have temper tantrums. He began to show violent tendencies". After their relationship ended in January 2005, Boniadi confessed her devastation to a friend and fellow church member. She was punished for this