Shaparak Khorsandi

Comedian, author, and Vice President of Humanists UK

Born in Iran in 1973, Shaparak Khorsandi and her family were forced to flee from Iran to London after the Islamic Revolution. She graduated from the University of Winchester in 1995 with a degree in Drama, Theatre and Television, then moved on to pursue a career in comedy. She performs stand-up and has appeared on countless TV and radio shows including Mock The Week, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Have I Got News For You, QI, Just a Minute, and other flagship Radio 4 programmes. She's also taken part in several series of Live At The Apollo & Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow.

Shaparak's first book was a memoir titled A Beginner's Guide to Acting English, published in 2009, detailing her early years in England. In 2016, she published her second book and first novel, the bestselling Nina is Not OK. Her latest book, a young adult novel, Kissing Emma, was published in September 2021. In 2015, she was one of several contributors to What is Humanism?.

Shaparak reflected on her life as a humanist for New Humanist in 2017.

She appeared on the Humanists UK podcast What I Believe in 2021.

See also
Her own website