Yara Sayeh Shahidi was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Keri Salter Shahidi and Afshin Shahidi, a photographer. Her father is Iranian-American, whereas her mother is African-American. The family moved to California for Afshin's work when Yara was 4 years old. She is the older sister of child actor and model Sayeed Shahidi and they have a younger brother, Ehsan. Keri Shahidi states the name Yara means in Farsi "Someone who is close to your heart", the name Sayeed means "Blessing", and Ehsan means "To act as though God is watching". The rapper Nas is their once-removed cousin.
By Posted on