Mohammad reza pahlavi and his wife

For other uses, see Soraya (disambiguation).

Queen of Iran from 1951 to 1958

Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary (Persian: ثریا اسفندیاری بختیاری, romanized: Sorayâ Esfandiâri-Baxtiâri; 22 June 1932 – 25 October 2001) was Queen of Iran as the second wife of ShahMohammad Reza Pahlavi, whom she married in 1951.

Their marriage suffered many pressures, particularly when it became clear that she was infertile.

Mohammad reza pahlavi and his wife

She rejected the Shah's suggestion that he might take a second wife in order to produce an heir, as he rejected her suggestion that he might abdicate in favor of his half-brother. In March 1958, their divorce was announced. After a brief career as an actress, and a liaison with Italian film director Franco Indovina, Soraya lived alone in Paris until her death.

Early life and education

Soraya was the elder child and only daughter of Khalil Esfandiary-Bakhtiary (1901–1983),^[1] a Bakhtiari nobleman and Iranian ambassador to West Ger