Nasim Pedrad (Persian: نسیم پدراد; born November 18, 1981) is an American actress and comedian best known for her five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2009 to 2014. She has since gone on to co-star in sitcoms such as Mulaney, Scream Queens, People of Earth, and New Girl.
Pedrad was a performer with the Sunday Company at The Groundlings. She frequently performed her one-woman show Me, Myself & Iran at the Los Angeles divisions of ImprovOlympic and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. The show was selected for the 2007 HBO Comedy Festival in Las Vegas. She received an LA Weekly Best Comedic Performance of the Year Award as the lead in the comedic spoof After School Special.
Pedrad made her first television appearance on an episode of Gilmore Girls. In 2007, she made a guest appearance on The Winner. She had a recurring role on ER as Nurse Suri. In 2009, she had a guest appearance on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Pedrad joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2009 as part of the 35th (2009–2010) season. Pedrad is one of a handful of cast members born outside North America (joining Italian-born Tony Rosato, New Zealand-born Pamela Stephenson, English-born Morwenna Banks, and Chilean-born Horatio Sanz). Pedrad became a repertory player in the 2011–12 season after two years of being a featured player. Pedrad left SNL in 2014 to work on Mulaney.
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