Parvaneh Massoumi

Parvaneh Massoumi
پروانه معصومی
Massoumi in 1977
Born	Sakineh Kabodar-Ahanghi (1945-03-02)2 March 1945 Tehran, Iran
Died	27 November 2023(2023-11-27) (aged 78) Rasht, Iran
Nationality	Iranian
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1972–2023
Spouse	Masoud Massoumi (div.)
Children	1

Sakineh Kabodar-Ahangi (Persian: سکینه کبودرآهنگی; 2 March 1945 – 27 November 2023), known professionally as Parvaneh Massoumi (Persian: پروانه معصومی), was an Iranian actress. She completed her education at the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the National University of Iran. Massoumi made her acting debut in 1971 with a minor role in the film Bita and rose to prominence the following year by playing the lead female role in Raining (Ragbar), directed by Bahram Beyzai. She continued collaborating with Beyzai until his film The Crow (1977), becoming the first prominent female lead in his cinematic works.^[1]

She later won the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress at the Fajr Film Festival for her performances in Chrysanthemums (1984), Dowry for Rabab (1987), and The Splendor of Life (1987).^[2][3][4]

Parvaneh Massoumi was born on 11 March 1944 in Tehran.^[5] She graduated from the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the National University of Iran^[6] and later traveled to Germany for further studies. While in Germany, she met Mosoud Massoumi, a photography student, whom she married. The couple returned to Iran after her studies, and Massoumi began her artistic career in the early 1970s.^[7] Her most prolific period in cinema was during the 1980s.

Massoumi debuted in cinema with a minor role alongside Googoosh in Bita, directed by Hajir Dariush. She later noted that she did not see the film until 1995.

In an interview with ISNA, Parvaneh Massoumi described her entry into Bahram Beyzai’s works as follows:

"My husband was a commercial photographer, and Mr. Beyzai had seen a photo of me used in an advertisement, which led to Ahmad Reza Ahmadi recommending me for the role of Atefeh in Raining. I was born into a religious family, and at the time I entered cinema, acting was not well-regarded. For this reason, I had no intention of pursuing acting, knowing it would face strong opposition from my family."^[8]

In 1972, she gained recognition as the female lead in Raining, Beyzai’s first feature film. Her performance alongside Parviz Fannizadeh formed one of the most distinctive cinematic pairs of Iran’s New Wave movement in the early 1970s.^[9] In the film, she portrayed a woman caught in an unconventional love triangle, blending the modesty of a woman raised in traditional family values with a yearning for liberation. The dialogue scene between Massoumi and Fannizadeh in the presence of students remains one of the most memorable sequences in Iranian cinema history. Beyzai cast her in three additional projects: the short film Journey (produced by the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults) and the feature films Stranger and the Fog (1974) and The Crow (1977).

After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Massoumi moved to France. Upon her return, her first role was in The Second Way, directed by Hamid Rakhshani. She became a prolific actress during the 1980s, working with notable directors such as Nasser Taghvai in Captain Khorshid and emerging filmmakers of the post-revolution era.^[10] She won Crystal Simorgh awards for Best Actress at the Fajr Film Festival for her roles in Chrysanthemums (1984), Dowry for Rabab (1987), and The Splendor of Life (1987).

In the 1990s, Massoumi was less active in cinema but more prominent on television. Her notable performances during this decade included Naser al-Din Shah, Actor of Cinema, directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and Traveler to Rey, directed by Davoud Mirbagheri. This trend continued into the 2000s.

From the early 2000s, while living in Gilan, Massoumi’s presence in cinema and television diminished, and she began expressing controversial opinions and viewpoints.^[11]

In her final two decades, Massoumi’s political views, proximity to the government, and religious leanings overshadowed her acting career to some extent.^[6] She was among the first female actors to adopt and defend mandatory hijab in Iran after the 1979 Revolution. Her death prompted varied reactions on social media, which differed significantly from the typical responses of cinema enthusiasts mourning the loss of a veteran actor.

In 2010, following the 2009 election protests, Massoumi participated in a meeting of artists with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the Leader’s House. During the meeting, she defended the government’s stance, stating that there was no compulsion in her choice to wear the chador and that it was her personal decision.^[6]

Another controversial statement came in response to Leila Hatami’s critical remarks about the government’s treatment of protesters in January 2018. In an interview with Khabaronline, Massoumi claimed that people wanted to attack Hatami in the street over her comments, though she later denied making such a statement.^[6]

In response to the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, Massoumi wrote on Twitter: “The Islamic Revolution freed us from the chains of oppression and the captivity of desires, and we will fight to preserve it until our last breath. I place my trust in the Ever-Living who never dies.”^[6]

In the last 30 years of her life, Massoumi resided in Tahergourab, a village in Someh Sara, Gilan.^[12]

She was hospitalized for several days and transferred to the intensive care unit, passing away on 27 November 2023 in Someh Sara. Initial media reports cited intestinal rupture and lung infection as the cause of death, but her son clarified that she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and died due to a blood infection.^[13] Per her wishes,^[14] she was laid to rest in her family’s burial plot at Imamzadeh Abutaleb in Tehran.^[15]

Her funeral took place on 29 November 2023 at Imamzadeh Abutaleb in the Farahzad district, without a memorial ceremony at the House of Cinema and with no notable presence of artists.^[16][6]

• Winner of the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress for her performance in Chrysanthemums at the 3rd Fajr Film Festival
• Winner of the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress for her performance in Dowry for Rabab at the 6th Fajr Film Festival

• Parvaneh Massoumi at IMDb