Esfandiary-Bakhtiary, Soraya

ROYAL CONSORT, ACTOR (IRAN)
BORN 22 Jun 1932, Isfahan - DIED 25 Oct 2001, Paris
GRAVE LOCATION München, Bayern: Westfriedhof, Baldurstrasse 28 (143-A-17)

Daughter of Khalil Esfandiary, who was Iranian ambassador in Germany. In 1948 she met Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in Paris. He was divorced and soon an engagement followed. They married in 1951 in Teheran.

She was unabled to produce him a heir and after the Shah suggested that he should take a second wife for this purpose their marriage fell apart. On 6 Apr 1958 the formal divorce followed.

She moved to France where she tried her luck as an actress. In 1965 she was in the movie "I tre volti" ("The Three Faces"). She started a relationship with the director of that movie, Franco Indovina. He died in 1972 in a plane crash and after his death she stayed in Europe.

She died in Paris 2001 and was buried in Munich, where her parents and her brother were interred. In 2002 the tomb was vandalized by a text that stated that she was a miserable parasite who hadn't worked from her 25th until her 60th year. After her death several women claimed to be her daughter.

Images

Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiary's grave at the Westfriedhof, Munich.
Picture by Androom (20 Mar 2002)

 

Sources
Internet
Point de Vue (Images du Monde), Point de Vue, Créteil
Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary - Wikipedia


Espronceda Y Delgado, José de

Published: 13 Dec 2009
Last update: 02 May 2022