Rosie Malek-Yonan

Rosie Malek-Yonan was born on July 4, 1955 in Tehran. She is an actress, director, producer, published author, documentary filmmaker, a classically trained pianist, composer and a human rights activist. She is a descendant of one of the oldest and most prominent Assyrian Christian families from the Middle-East, tracing her Assyrian roots back nearly eleven centuries. The Malek family had roots in the Assyrian village of Geogtapah in the Urmia region of northwestern Iran. Rosie's father, George Malek-Yonan, was Iran's Champion of Champions with numerous gold medals in track and field and the pentathlon. He became an international attorney and is credited with securing a seat for the Assyrian Christians as a recognized minority in the Iranian Parliament (Majlis). This was a huge milestone for a nation without a country since the fall of the Assyrian Empire. Rosie's mother, Lida Malek-Yonan (1928-2002), was a well known humanitarian and activist who tirelessly worked a lifetime demanding