21 Facts About Nazanin Afshin-Jam

Nazanin Afshin-Jam is an Iranian-Canadian human rights activist, author, public speaker and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss World Canada 2003.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam is president and co-founder of Stop Child Executions, as well as the founder of The Nazanin Foundation.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam emigrated to Canada with her family in 1981 and is married to Peter MacKay, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam was born on April 11,1979, in Tehran, Iran.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam's father was the head of the Sheraton Hotel in Tehran, frequented by westerners.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam's mother converted to Christianity prior to the Iranian Revolution and both Afshin-Jam and her older sister were raised in her mother's faith.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam was crowned Miss World Canada 2003 and represented Canada at Miss World 2003 in Sanya, China on December 6,2003 where she placed 1st runner-up.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam started a campaign, including a petition, which attracted more than 350,000 signatures worldwide.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam has dedicated her song, Someday, one of the 12 songs on her similarly titled album, Someday, to Nazanin Fatehi.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam initiated the Stop Child Executions Campaign and petitioned to help children on death row; the campaign was registered as a non-profit organization with 501-C 3 status in 2008.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam is co-founder and President of the organization, whose aim is to put a permanent end to executions of minors in Iran and abroad.

On September 23,2008, Nazanin Afshin-Jam organized the Ahmadinejad's Wall of Shame rally at Dag Hammarskjold park, across from the United Nations headquarters in New York, as Ahmadinejad was addressing the General Assembly.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam was given the Emerging Leader Peacemaker Award by the YMCA's Power of Peace Awards.

That same year, Nazanin Afshin-Jam signed an open letter of apology, posted to Iranian.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam chaired the first annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam advocated in 2012 for the closure of the Canadian embassy in Tehran.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam participated, together with eight other women's rights activists, in the documentary film Honor Diaries which explores the issues of gender-based violence and inequality in Muslim-majority societies.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam took on the role of 'Shaggy Chick' in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, where Matthew Lillard's face was attached to her body using CGI during a gag involving magic potions.

Several of Nazanin Afshin-Jam's songs have made the Top 30 and Top 40 charts.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam was raised a Catholic and remains a practising one.

On January 4,2012, Nazanin Afshin-Jam married Peter MacKay, then the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, at a private ceremony in Mexico.