Irene was born in an Armenian family who had immigrated to Babolsar, Iran, after surviving the Armenian Genocide. Her father was Alexander Zazians and her mother's name was Varia. Her father was from Western Armenia, while her mother was from the east. Irene was their fourth child, but all of the first three children died of causes such as disease. She went to "Shahdokht" school in Babolsar. She started acting in the Ferdowsi theater when she was 19. In 1951 she joined the Noushin group in Sa'di theater, performing in works including Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan. She married Mohammad Asemi, also an actor in the Noushin theater, when she was 16.
Film career
After some years in theater she joined the cinema industry, acting in films such as The Man who Suffered directed by Jafari and Waiting by Ataullah Zahed. Her next film was The Messenger from Heaven directed by Samuel Khachikian, also an Iranian Armenian. At the time Iranian women could not act in sexy clothes, but because Irene was of an Armenian family, she did not have that limitation and wore a two-piece swim suit in The Messenger from Heaven. The film was on screen for four days, but then was renditioned five times for its taboo scenes. In 1958 Siamak Yasemi invited her to perform in a movie named The Spring of Life. This was Mohammad Ali Fardin's first film. In the early 1970s she worked with many Iranian new wave directors such as Amir Naderi, Masoud Kimiyai, Khosrow Haritash and Shapoor Gharib.
''Mohallel''
Among her most acclaimed and controversial roles was the portrayal of a traditional Iranian Muslim woman in Mohallel while she was Armenian. The Islamic termmohallel refers to a man marrying a divorced woman so that she can marry her ex-husband after they have already divorced three times. Couples cannot remarry for a fourth time until the ex-wife marries another man, to ensure that divorce is not taken lightly. Nosrat Karimi directed the film Mohallel in 1972. After all Iranian stars rejected the role, he turned to Irene, an Armenian. She spent time in a traditional Iranian household to observe their lifestyle. However, some Shiamojtaheds such as Morteza Motahhari wrote bitter criticisms of the film in Kayhan. Other critics defended Irene's performance, and Zazians was nominated for a Sepas award that year. The film only remained on screens for three days and was renditioned.
Television career
She played in four TV series. One was Soltan-e Sahebgheran, a historical TV series about Nasereddin shah Qajar and Amirkabir and their assassination. Zazians portrayed Mahd-e Olya, Shah's mother in the series. Another TV series was Abunasr's Throne, based on a story of Sadegh Hedayat and a screenplay by Ahmad Shamlu. Her latter two series were I Love You, I Love You, directed by Morteza Alavi, and Hezar Dastan, also by Ali Hatami, which was screened after the Iranian revolution with her role being totally cut out.
Personal life
Zazians married twice; first when she was 16, to Mohammad Asemi, an actor in the Noushin group. Asemi was also a poet and a writer and was a member of Tudeh Party of Iran. Their marriage was not stable and they got divorced. From this marriage, Irene was sometimes called Irene Asemi, her ex-husband's family name. After that, she married director and producer, Shahrokh Rafi. But this marriage also turned into divorce. After the Iranian Revolution Irene was banned from performing as an actress, so she travelled to Germany to live with her sister. She only stayed there for two years and returned to Iran in 1986. During her time in Germany, she had retrained as a beautician and, after coming back to Iran, she also worked as a beautician.
Death
She suffered lung cancer in the last decade of her life. She had three surgeries and was working less, as recommended by her doctors. She died in July 28, 2012 in Tehran. She is buried in the Armenian cemetery in Khavaran road in southeast Tehran.
