Leila Hatami (; born October 1, 1972) is an Iranian actress. She has received numerous accolades, including a Silver Bear, two Crystal Simorghs, two Hafez Awards, two Iran Cinema Celebration Awards and three Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Awards. In 2012, the Government of France has awarded her the Legion of Honour. Early life Hatami was born in Tehran. She is the daughter of influential Iranian director Ali Hatami and actress Zari Khoshkam. After finishing high school, she moved to Lausanne, Switzerland and started her studies in Mechanical engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). After two years she changed her major to French literature. After completing her studies, she returned to live in Iran. Career Hatami played several small roles in her father's productions throughout her youth, including in the Hezar Dastan television series and the Kamalolmolk movie. Her first leading film appearance was the title role in the 1997 film Leila, directed by Dariush Mehrjui. She received the Diploma of Honor for Best Actress from the 15th Fajr Film Festival. Following this, she continued to act regularly in Iranian cinema. She has starred in dozens of films, and has often garnered critical acclaim and accolades. For her performance in The Deserted Station (2002), she was nominated for the Fajr Film Festival Award for Best Actress and she won the Best Actress Award at the 26th Montreal World Film Festival. She has appeared in her husband's films as a director, Portrait of a Lady Far Away (2005) and The Last Step (2012). She also designed the sets and the costumes of The Last Step and, in addition to receiving the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance, she received a nomination for the Crystal Simorgh Fajr Film Festival Award for Best Production Design and Costume Design for her work on the film. In 2012, she received international attention for her role in the critical acclaimed Asghar Farhadi film, A Separation, which won dozens of accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Her performance earned critical acclaim and various awards, including the Silver Bear Award for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival. IndieWire praised her portrayal as one of the best female performances of the 21st century. In April 2014, she was announced as a member of the main competition jury at the 2014 Cannes Film