A biography for Yara Shahidihasn’t been written yet.
“L.A. is great, but it's a completely different beast. I go back to Minnesota, and I borrow a bike from my neighbor and go around Lake Harriet saying 'Hi' to people. Some of that is missing in L.A.”
“One thing that used to worry me is the fact that it seemed like Harvard was this big scary thing where I would have to spend all my time studying just to get in. But getting to go to both campuses of Harvard and Oxford and getting to meet some of the professors was absolutely amazing.”
“Fortunately I can say that social media has treated me pretty well. I've been exempt from a lot of the mean comments.”
“If you look at the history of art and fashion, it's always been political. It's always been pushing boundaries.”
“I really love hip hop. My cousin Nas came out with an album 'Life Is Good,' and I love that album, but I also love Maroon 5.”
“On a personal level, I think dressing is such a form of expression, and when you do events, it's important to feel as though you are authentically yourself.”
“Quite honestly, I'm the kind of person to get my feelings hurt over something somebody said on Twitter.”
“When you're a part of any protected class, whether it is being a woman, a person of color, a part of the LGBTQ community, or an immigrant, we're expected to get everything right and be the embodiment of perfection when it is not expected of other people.”
“I'm louder and bigger with my curls. There's power in that. Also, straight hair is kind of annoying. It gets caught in my collar.”
“When you are in the public eye as a person of color, you are given very little room to mess up.”
“Scenes change all the time. Scenes will change while you're shooting them, and you just have to roll with it 'cause that's what makes it funny. It's not being stuck in your character and how you're gonna do something, but to react to other people and to really have a real-life conversation.”
“One thing I've always been concerned about is the objectification of women in ads, and that's one thing where I was like, 'Well, if I become a part of advertising, I could change that.'”
“I'm double majoring in social studies - which is sociology, anthropology, economics, and philosophy - and African-American studies.”
“I've always loved watches. It's been the one thing that I've asked for, whether it was every Christmas or a birthday.”
“I have so many pairs of oxfords; it's ridiculous. It started because at my school you have to wear oxfords for our uniform, but after I got my first pair, I realized they were really comfortable, so they became my regular walking shoes, too.”
“For me, personally, I'm usually not on my phone that much. I prefer listening to old radio shows and watching foreign films than tweeting.”
“I am just a history nerd.”
“My mama is African American and from Wisconsin. My baba was born in Iran. My parents have stressed the idea of creating your own path, and creating your own identity is part of that. That's why embracing these two cultures is important to me.”
“I was in Minnesota, where I was born, and I did print ads and commercials. And that was always cool 'cause when you're little, you can only work two hours a day, and it changes.”
“What modeling taught me at a young age was how to say 'no,' which is something girls - we're not always good at saying 'no.' We want to be nice, and then we forget to look out for ourselves.”