24 Facts About Empress Farah

Empress Farah's was born into a prosperous family whose fortunes were diminished after her father's early death.

Empress Farah's worked for many charities, and founded Iran's first American-style university, enabling more women to become students in the country.

Empress Farah's facilitated the buying-back of Iranian antiquities from museums abroad.

Empress Farah Diba was born on 14 October 1938 in Tehran to an upper-class family.

Empress Farah's was the only child of Captain Sohrab Diba and his wife, Farideh Ghotbi .

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Empress Farah wrote in her memoir that she had a close bond with her father, and his unexpected death in 1948 deeply affected her.

Young Empress Farah Diba began her education at Tehran's Italian School, then moved to the French Jeanne d'Arc School until the age of sixteen and later to the Lycee Razi.

Empress Farah's was an athlete in her youth, becoming captain of her school's basketball team.

Empress Farah Diba married Shah Mohammed Reza on 20 December 1959, aged 21.

Mohammad Reza was always attracted to tall women and Empress Farah was taller than her husband, which led him to wear elevator shoes to disguise this fact.

In 1961 during a visit to France, the Francophile Empress Farah befriended the French culture minister Andre Malraux, leading her to arrange the exchange of cultural artifacts between French and Iranian art galleries and museums, a lively trade that continued until the Islamic revolution of 1979.

Empress Farah's spent much of her time attending the openings of various education and health-care institutions without venturing too deeply into controversial issues.

Empress Farah's used her proximity and influence with her husband, the Shah, to secure funding and focus attention on causes, particularly in the areas of women's rights and cultural development.

Empress Farah's concerns were the "realms of education, health, culture and social matters" with politics being excluded from her purview.

Empress Farah's became one of the most highly visible figures in the Imperial Government and the patron of 24 educational, health and cultural organizations.

The Empress Farah recalled of her days as a university student in 1950s France about being asked where she was from:.

The fruits of her work in founding and expanding that institution are perhaps the Empress Farah' most enduring cultural legacy to the people of Iran.

Under these difficult circumstances, the Shah and Empress Farah were not given permission to remain in the United States.

Under these conditions, the Shah and Empress again made an appeal to President Anwar Sadat to return to Egypt .

Empress Farah's was the regent in pretence from 27 July to 31 October 1980.

Empress Farah's first settled in Williamstown, Massachusetts, but later bought a home in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Empress Farah Pahlavi continues to appear at certain international royal events, such as the 2004 wedding of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, the 2010 wedding of Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, the 2011 wedding of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and the 2016 wedding of Crown Prince Leka II of Albania.

Empress Farah Pahlavi has one granddaughter through her late son Ali Reza Pahlavi and his companion Raha Didevar.

In 2003, Empress Farah Pahlavi wrote a book about her marriage to Mohammad Reza entitled An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah.