Firooz Zahedi (born 1949) is an American photographer of Iranian descent.
Early life and education
Firooz Zahedi was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1949. His family moved to England, where he received his secondary education. In 1969, he came to the US to attend Georgetown University in Washington DC., and received a degree from the Walsh School of Foreign Service.[1]
After Georgetown, Zahedi worked at the Iranian embassy in Washington before leaving to attend Corcoran School of Art from which he received a degree in visual communication in 1976.[2]
Career
While at art school, he began photographing for Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine and served as its Washington DC correspondent.[3]
In May 1976, he met and became friends with Elizabeth Taylor, and soon after, they traveled to Iran. The photographs from that trip, which included the actress dressed in local tribal costumes, alongside portraits he took of her on the set of A Little Night Music in Vienna, became the subject of the cover story of Andy Warhol's Interview magazine in October 1976.[4]
In 1978, he accompanied Elizabeth Taylor to Hollywood as her personal photographer on the set of the film Return Engagement.[citation needed]
He settled in Los Angeles to pursue his photographic career.[5] He subsequently moved to Los Angeles, and started his professional career as a photographer.
Zahedi shot covers for a number of Barbra Streisand's albums, including Release Me, Love is the Answer, Back to Broadway, and Timeless: Live in Concert.
In February 2012, a collection of his photographs of Elizabeth Taylor in Iran was exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.[7]
His portraits and fine art photography have been shown in New York at the Staley Wise Gallery and Leila Heller Gallery.[8] Internationally at the Laleh June Gallery in Basel, Switzerland, and the Doha and Dubai Art Fairs.[citation needed]
A solo show of his work, Firooz Zahedi: Photographs and collages was held April 26 to June 7, 2014, at the Paul Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles.[citation needed]
Personal life
Zahedi's son, Darian, is also a photographer as well as a musician. He has played with bands including The Rondelles and CRX. In 2012, Zahedi married Beth Rudin DeWoody, daughter of New York City real estate developer Lewis Rudin.[9]
