Education
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, her family fled her birth country when she was still a baby in the wake of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. They travelled to the United States and were granted asylum as political refugees. Ghanizada is a graduate of James Madison High School in Vienna, Virginia and has a degree in English and Communications from Virginia Technology
Ghanizada learned to speak English from watching American television
That combined with the family"s regular trips to a local cinema that showed Bollywood movies, and her mother"s passionate love of Indian and American film stars, inspired her to become an actress. She relocated to Los Angeles and began her on-camera career by working in television commercials and guest starring on popular television shows.
Her multi-ethnic appearance has enabled her to play Indian, Arabic, Iranian, Mediterranean and the All-American girl next door. In the Laura Neri film A Kiss on the Nose, Ghanizada played the lead role of Chiara, a performance for which she received a film festival best actress nomination.
In 2008, Ghanizada joined the cast of the General Hospital prime-time spin-off General Hospital: Night Shift for season 2 as Doctor Saira Batra, a specialist in holistic medicine.
In 2009, Ghanizada played Kelly, a Prada sales girl on Home Box Office"s Entourage (season 6, episode 2) and joined the cast of the television pilot Tough Trade starring Sam Shepard and Cary Elwes, from Weeds creator Jenji Kohan, and executive producer T Bone Burnett. "Alphas" was picked up to series in 2011, but only lasted two seasons. In 2014, she filmed the comedy pilot "Ellen More or Less" for National Broadcasting Company directed by Peyton Reed.
The Hollywood Reporter announced in 2015 that the actress would be filming the "The Untitled Joshua Marston" feature opposite Michael Shannon and Rachel Weisz.
In 2010, she joined David Strathairn as a primary cast member of the American Syfy Channel series Alphas where she played Rachel Pirzad, a woman with enhanced sensory abilities.