Jewell Farshad

Jewell is an Iranian-American actress and model. She was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. As a member of a highly educated and secular family, from an early age she questioned the restrictions imposed by Islamic dogma on women in Iran. Her natural curiosity and a desire to live in a free society, eventually led her to leave Iran. Cognizant of the fact that sacrifices need to be made to fulfill a destiny, she said goodbye to her beloved family and embarked on her life journey at the age of 19. Her next chapter began when she moved to Los Angeles and obtained her B.A. at the Otis Parsons College of Art and Design. Negin is fluent in English and Persian and has a working proficiency in Arabic and French. Jewell Negin is the title holder of Miss Iran 2017 and Ms. Bel Air 2017 and Ms. California USA 2018. Jewell said in her interview with MALA International "Ever since I was little girl, I dreamed of becoming a super-model and actress. Growing up in the draconian state of Iran, I didn't have the privilege to train and work as a model and actress due to the strict Islamic rules and regulations concerning hijab. In Iran, women are not allowed to act in plays and can't even expose their hair let alone model or act. Women can get arrested if they are photographed in any advertising capacity. There is practically no acting jobs or professional training for women in Iran... furthermore one of my main concern as a Iranian-American Actress and model was the reality of living in exile for disobeying these Islamic rules." Jewell started her modeling career in early 2012, with the emergence of social media conglomerates such as Facebook and Instagram. She was hired by numbers of brands and photographers to work on their campaign. She did a couple of photo-shoots, but she was too worried that public exposure and social media can risk her chance of ever being allowed to return back to Iran to her beloved family. In 2015 after years of modeling and pageantry it was apparent that entertainment was her calling. Since then, Jewell has appeared as a model and actress in many campaigns, music videos and television series. Jewell hopes that her journey inspires many women around the world. She strives to be be the voice of many Muslim women around the world and to bring awareness to women of all ages, religions and nationalities, to inspire men and women to stand up for their beliefs and to strive to create a better future for all. Her future goals include supporting non-profits organizations that empower women, such as the United Nations and Malala Fund. She wishes to start her own nonprofit campaign to help women seeking for a chance at a new life and spread the message that it can be done! Her mission is to encourage women that they no longer need to be a victim of circumstances and can become masters of their own destiny.