Nasim Pedrad


Nasim Pedrad 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, People of Earth, and New Girl, and the live-action remake of Aladdin. She also starred in the slasher series Scream Queens.

Early life

Pedrad was born in Tehran, Iran. Her parents are Arasteh Amani and Parviz Pedrad. Although her father was able to migrate to the United States, Pedrad and her mother had to stay in Germany, reuniting with her father when she was 3 years old. Her younger sister, Nina, is a comedy writer. They are both fluent in Persian, were raised in Irvine, California, and graduated from University High School. Nasim graduated from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 2003. She was a member of the UCLA Spring Sing Company.

Career

Early work

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.

''Saturday Night Live''

Pedrad joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2009 as part of the 35th season. Pedrad is one of a handful of cast members born outside North America. 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.

Other work

In 2011, she was a recurring voice on the Fox animated series Allen Gregory. She appeared with a small role in the 2011 film No Strings Attached. In 2012, she had a supporting voice role in the animated feature film The Lorax and a small appearance in The Dictator. In 2013, Pedrad had another supporting voice role in Despicable Me 2. In the autumn of 2014, she left Saturday Night Live to star in a new Fox sitcom, Mulaney. On October 18, 2014, Fox shut down production of the series by reducing the 16-episode order by three episodes. Filming for the thirteenth episode had just been completed prior to the order reduction, and the fourteenth episode was about to enter production.
Beginning in 2015, Pedrad has a recurring guest role as LAPD officer Aly Nelson on the Fox sitcom New Girl. She portrayed Gigi Caldwell in season one of Fox horror-comedy Scream Queens.
In 2016, she appeared in a commercial for Old Navy alongside comedian Kumail Nanjiani and other SNL cast members Cecily Strong and Jay Pharoah.
In 2017, she joined the cast of season two of the TBS comedy series People of Earth. Later that same year, she also made guest appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2005The 73 VirginsZahraShort film
2008A Thousand WordsThe PhotographerShort film
2011No Strings AttachedWriter
2012The DictatorFemale GMW Host
2012The LoraxIsabella Once-lerVoice
2013Despicable Me 2JillianVoice
2014CootiesRebekkah
2019Corporate AnimalsSuzy
2019AladdinDalia
2020DesperadosWesley

YearTitleRoleNotes
2006Gilmore GirlsWaitressEpisode: "Bridesmaids Revisited"
2007The WinnerWaitressEpisode: "What Happens in Albany, Stays in Albany"
2007–09ERNurse Suri9 episodes
2009It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaLucyEpisode: "The Waitress Is Getting Married"
2009–14, 2018Saturday Night LiveCast member, cameo109 episodes
2011Allen GregoryVal, Brinique 7 episodes
2013The AwesomesVarious voices5 episodes
2014–15TripTankVarious voices9 episodes
2014–15MulaneyJane ParvanaStarring role; 13 episodes
2015–18New GirlAly NelsonRecurring role, 28 episodes
2015Scream QueensGigi Caldwell10 episodes
2016The Mindy ProjectDr. Yasmin MaloofEpisode: "Nurses' Strike"
2017People of EarthSpecial Agent Alex Foster10 episodes
2017Big MouthFatima Episode: "Girls Are Horny Too"
2017Curb Your EnthusiasmNumaEpisode: "Foisted!"
2018Brooklyn Nine-NineKate PeraltaEpisode: "DFW"
2018No ActivityEpisode: "Honesty & Action"
2019ChadChad