Who Is Medalion Rahimi? The Inspiring Life Journey of Fariba Rahimi’s Daughter
Medalion Rahimi has spent more than a decade building a career that many actors only dream about, moving from small guest spots on network shows to a starring role on one of television’s longest-running procedural dramas. Born to an Iranian father and a mother of Jewish heritage, she grew up navigating two cultures at once, and that upbringing later shaped both her personal outlook and her professional choices. Fans who first discovered her through NCIS: Los Angeles often want to know more about the woman behind Special Agent Fatima Namazi, including her family, her path into acting, and the mother who raised her. This article covers her full story, from her Los Angeles childhood to her present-day career, with a close look at her relationship with her mother, Fariba Rahimi.
Quick Facts: Medalion Rahimi Bio Table
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Medalion Rahimi |
| Date of Birth | 15 July 1992 |
| Place of Birth | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Iranian and Jewish descent |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years Active | 2011 to present |
| Education | UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television |
| Father | Kiumars Rahimi (dentist) |
| Mother | Fariba Rahimi (lawyer) |
| Siblings | Farmon Rahimi (older brother, entertainment lawyer), Lila Rahimi (younger sister) |
| Known For | NCIS: Los Angeles, Before I Fall, Still Star-Crossed |
| Famous Role | Special Agent Fatima Namazi |
| Agency | The Gersh Agency |
Early Life and Family Background
Medalion Rahimi was born on 15 July 1992 in Los Angeles, California, into a household that blended two distinct traditions. Her father, Kiumars Rahimi, works as a dentist based in Agoura Hills, California, while her mother, Fariba Rahimi, built a career as a lawyer. Both parents emigrated from Iran, and their marriage brought together a Muslim father and a mother of Jewish faith, a combination Rahimi has described as teaching her early on that belief and identity can coexist without conflict.
She grew up as a first-generation Iranian American alongside two siblings, an older brother named Farmon, who later became an entertainment lawyer, and a younger sister, Lila. The family settled in the Los Angeles area, placing young Medalion close to the entertainment industry from the start, though her parents did not push her toward acting.
Interestingly, Rahimi’s first brush with the camera came not through acting but through modelling, which she began at just four years old. She quickly found the work uninteresting and asked her mother to enrol her in music and dance lessons instead. That request marked a turning point, steering her toward the performing arts long before she considered acting as a serious profession.
Her love of theatre grew steadily through her school years. She took part in local theatre productions and school plays, building confidence on stage well before she ever auditioned for television or film. This grounding in live performance gave her a discipline that would later serve her well in a competitive industry.
Education and Early Training
Rahimi attended Campbell Hall High School, a private college-preparatory school in North Hollywood known for its strong arts programmes. It was there that her interest in performing deepened, thanks to opportunities to act in school productions and refine her craft in a structured setting.
After graduating from high school, she enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she studied at the School of Theater, Film and Television and earned a degree in theatre, with a minor in English. While at UCLA, she secured leading roles in university productions, including stagings of Medea and Georgie Peorgie, which allowed her to sharpen her range as a performer.
She has said that she did not seriously consider acting as a full-time career until she was on her own, away from the comfort of her family home. University gave her the space to test that ambition, and her professors and classmates helped her realise that theatre could become more than a hobby.
Career Beginnings
Rahimi’s professional acting career started in 2011, the same period she was completing her studies. She took her first credited screen role as Lola in the short comedic film This Never Happened, followed by an appearance in Fat City, New Orleans. Before landing steady acting work, she held down more ordinary jobs, including a stint as a receptionist, and even appeared in printer commercials to make ends meet.
Television soon opened doors for her. In 2013, she made a guest appearance on Criminal Minds, and over the following years she picked up guest roles on shows including New Girl, Jane the Virgin, and NCIS, where she played a small role in a 2014 episode. These early credits, though brief, put her in front of casting directors across major networks and studios.
In 2016, she landed a recurring part as Princess Zara Al-Salim on ABC’s short-lived series The Catch, a Shonda Rhimes production. That same year, she appeared in an episode of Awkward and starred in the coming-of-age comedy XOXO. Each role added to her growing reputation as a versatile young actress capable of handling both drama and comedy.
Breakthrough Roles: Still Star-Crossed and Before I Fall
The year 2017 proved pivotal for Rahimi’s career. She was cast as Princess Isabella in Still Star-Crossed, another Shondaland production for ABC that reimagined the aftermath of Romeo and Juliet. The role placed her in a prominent supporting position within a high-profile network drama, working alongside an experienced cast and crew.
That same year, she appeared in Before I Fall, a feature film starring Zoey Deutch, playing the character Elody. The film, based on a bestselling young adult novel, earned solid reviews and gave Rahimi valuable big-screen exposure alongside an ensemble of rising stars.
She continued building momentum with a role in The Last Day of My Life in 2017, and in 2018 she took on parts in the web series My Dead Ex and the fantasy drama The Outpost, where she played two different characters across separate seasons. She also made a guest appearance on NCIS: New Orleans, further connecting her to the NCIS franchise before her biggest role arrived.
NCIS: Los Angeles and Special Agent Fatima Namazi
In 2019, Rahimi joined the cast of NCIS: Los Angeles as Special Agent Fatima Namazi, a character introduced during season 10. Namazi transferred to the Office of Special Projects following an assignment in Afghanistan, bringing fresh energy to a team that had aired for a decade already.
Her casting carried genuine cultural significance. Fatima Namazi was written as a Muslim agent who wears a hijab, marking a first for the long-running NCIS franchise and offering a form of representation rarely seen in mainstream American police procedurals. Rahimi has spoken about how meaningful it felt to portray a character whose faith and professional competence were shown side by side, rather than treated as points of tension.
She began in a recurring capacity for season 10, appearing in a number of episodes before being promoted to series regular ahead of season 11 in February 2020. From that point, she remained a core part of the ensemble through to the show’s finale in May 2023, ultimately appearing in dozens of episodes across four seasons.
Playing Fatima allowed Rahimi to develop the character from a newcomer finding her footing into a trusted, capable agent. In interviews, she has described the role as especially rewarding because it let her portray a grounded, realistic woman rather than a caricature, giving her material that felt personally meaningful given her own background.
Personal Life and Identity
Rahimi has generally kept her personal life away from the spotlight, choosing to let her work speak for itself. She has, however, spoken candidly in interviews about her mixed Iranian and Jewish heritage and how it shaped her sense of identity growing up in Los Angeles.
She has also discussed the pressures of maintaining her appearance in an industry with narrow beauty standards, including an experience in her early twenties when damage from hair straightening led her to embrace her natural hair texture. That decision became part of a broader conversation she has had publicly about representation, self-acceptance, and the entertainment industry’s treatment of women from diverse backgrounds.
Family remains a consistent thread in how she talks about her life. She credits her parents, particularly her mother, with supporting her creative interests from a young age, even when that meant swapping modelling shoots for dance recitals.
Fariba Rahimi: The Mother Behind the Actress
Fariba Rahimi, Medalion’s mother, has worked as a lawyer and has largely stayed out of public life, unlike her daughter. Even so, her influence on Medalion’s upbringing is well documented in interviews and biographical profiles.
It was Fariba who enrolled her four-year-old daughter in music and dance classes after young Medalion asked to leave modelling behind, a small decision that ultimately set her on the path toward acting. That early willingness to listen to her daughter’s interests, rather than push a predetermined path, appears to have shaped Medalion’s confidence to pursue theatre and, later, a full-time acting career.
Fariba’s own background as a Jewish woman who married a Muslim man in the United States gave the household a multicultural foundation that Medalion has referenced when discussing her values around faith and tolerance. Rather than choosing one tradition over another, the family embraced both, a dynamic Medalion has called an important part of who she is today.
While Fariba has not sought media attention herself, her role as a steady, professional presence at home gave her daughter the stability needed to take creative risks in a notoriously unpredictable industry.
What Comes Next for Medalion Rahimi
Since NCIS: Los Angeles concluded in 2023, Rahimi has continued working in television, including a role in the drama series From Scratch, where she played Laila Mahdi. Her steady stream of projects suggests she has no plans to slow down, and her established profile from NCIS: Los Angeles gives her a strong platform for future roles.
Given her track record of moving between procedural dramas, coming-of-age films, and fantasy series, industry observers expect her range to keep opening doors across genres. Her willingness to take on culturally specific, representation-driven roles also positions her well as studios and networks continue seeking authentic voices for diverse characters.
Conclusion
Medalion Rahimi’s career reflects steady, deliberate growth rather than overnight fame, built through guest spots, supporting roles, and finally a defining part on NCIS: Los Angeles. Her mother, Fariba Rahimi, played a quiet but meaningful role in that journey, supporting her daughter’s shift from modelling to performing arts at a young age. Together, Medalion’s talent and her family’s encouragement created the foundation for a career that continues to grow well beyond her breakout television role.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Medalion Rahimi?
Medalion Rahimi is an American actress born on 15 July 1992 in Los Angeles, best known for playing Special Agent Fatima Namazi on NCIS: Los Angeles.
2. Who is Medalion Rahimi’s mother?
Her mother is Fariba Rahimi, a lawyer of Jewish heritage who encouraged Medalion’s early interest in music, dance, and theatre.
3. Who is Medalion Rahimi’s father?
Her father is Kiumars Rahimi, a dentist based in Agoura Hills, California, of Muslim faith.
4. What is Medalion Rahimi’s ethnicity?
She is of Iranian and Jewish descent, born in the United States to Iranian immigrant parents.
5. What is Medalion Rahimi best known for?
She is best known for portraying Special Agent Fatima Namazi in NCIS: Los Angeles from 2019 to 2023, as well as roles in Before I Fall and Still Star-Crossed.
6. Where did Medalion Rahimi study?
She earned a theatre degree, with a minor in English, from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
7. Does Medalion Rahimi have siblings?
Yes, she has an older brother, Farmon Rahimi, who works as an entertainment lawyer, and a younger sister, Lila Rahimi.
8. Was Fatima Namazi an important character for representation?
Yes, Fatima Namazi was the first hijab-wearing Muslim agent in the NCIS franchise, marking a notable moment for representation on the show.
9. What did Medalion Rahimi do before acting became her full-time career?
She worked as a receptionist and appeared in printer commercials while pursuing early acting opportunities.
10. Is Medalion Rahimi still acting?
Yes, she has continued acting since NCIS: Los Angeles ended, including a role in the television series From Scratch.
