Dhruv Trivedi
Nasim Pedrad is a writer, actress, and comedian best known for showcasing her acting talent while appearing on the sketches on ‘Saturday Night Live’ for five seasons, thus becoming a household name. The Iranian-born actress has appeared on popular sitcoms like ‘New Girl,’ ‘People of Earth’ and ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ as well as movies like ‘Desperados’ and the live-action version of ‘Aladdin.’
More recently, Pedrad has been creating a lot of buzz for creating the quirky TBS comedy ‘Chad,’ which stars her as the titular character, a 14-year-old Persian boy navigating high school. A fixture on the television landscape for many years, her work is well known and loved, but what does she spend her time on when she’s not at work? Here’s everything we know about Nasim Pedrad.
Nasim Pedrad’s Age and Family
Nasim Pedrad was born in Iran on November 18, 1981, to Arasteh Amani and Parviz Pedrad. Right after her birth, they left Iran, but her father migrated to the US while Nasim and her mother had to move to Germany. When Nasim turned 3, the mother-daughter duo followed their father to the US, which was also when she met her father for the first time.
Nasim has a younger sister named Nina, who is also a comedy powerhouse and is known for being a writer on ’30 Rock,’ ‘New Girl,’ and the wildly popular ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’ amongst others. Both sisters are fluent in Farsi. Nasim grew up in Orange County, California and in an interview recalled how hard she and her cousins tried to “fit in,” something that her show ‘Chad’ also explores. After graduating from University High School, she went on to study at the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television.
On multiple occasions, Nasim has recalled instances from her childhood that were memorable because of the cultural differences faced by her and her family, one of which was taking inspiration from the ‘Rocky’ movies to “Americanize” herself, with often hilarious consequences. In an interview, Nasim also mentioned how her father, in a bid to save her from being kidnapped as a child, had her regularly take Tae Kwon Do classes. She claimed to have risen to a second-degree black belt in the martial art but hastily added that she “retired” from it when she was in fifth grade.
Nasim Pedrad’s Professional Life
Nasim made her first appearance in mainstream television in 2006 on an episode of ‘Gilmore Girls‘ by which time she was already honing her improv and sketch comedy chops at The Groundlings and ImprovOlympic, both popular improv venues in Los Angeles. After ‘Gilmore Girls,’ Pedrad went on to appear on ‘The Winner,’ ‘ER,’ and ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.’
Her stint with ‘Saturday Night Live’ started in 2009, with Pedrad joining the 35th season of the sketch comedy and variety show, and lasted until 2014. During this time, she also lent her voice for supporting characters in the animated movies ‘Despicable Me 2’ and ‘The Lorax.’
After leaving ‘Saturday Night Live,’ Nasim bagged a role in the short-lived Fox sitcom ‘Mulaney,’ after which she landed recurring roles in ‘New Girls’ and ‘Scream Queens,’ a horror-comedy television series. In 2017, she joined the cast of ‘People of Earth,’ and also appeared on the widely popular television series ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine.’
In 2020, Nasim earned a role in the Netflix comedy, ‘Desperados‘ alongside ‘New Girl’ fellow cast member Lamorne Morris. In her own show, ‘Chad,’ Nasim plays a 14-year-old Persian high school student. She attributed her inspiration for writing about adolescence to the very same period in her own life, which was awkward by her admission.
Nasim Pedrad’s Boyfriend
There’s secretive, and then there’s SECRETIVE. Nasim Pedrad is the latter when it comes to her romantic life, which she has very effectively guarded against the limelight. Though we can be quite sure that the writer-performer is not married, as something like that for a person as famous as her is bound to become public knowledge, there are currently no rumors of anyone being the romantic partner of Nasim.
It seems it is also a topic that she does not discuss in interviews, even in fictional ones that she has with her own alter ego, as was seen in an interesting video of Nasim being interviewed by the character she created and plays – Chad. On being asked by Chad whether she was sexually active, Nasim refused to comment. Though it was a very tongue-in-cheek interview, it could also be taken as a subtle hint to viewers that she does not want to discuss that aspect of her life in public.
Read More: Is Chad Based on a True Story?
