About Leila Forouhar Leila Forouhar (Persian: لیلا فروهر , born 1960 in Isfahan, Iran) is a singer and actress from Iran who is very popular in Iran. She relocated to Los Angeles after the Iranian Revolution to avoid the ban on female singing placed by the revolutionary council. Prominent Shia Muslim scholar Reza Aslan is her nephew.Career Leila is the daughter of the late Iranian actor Jahangir Forouhar, who had already established a solid background in the Iranian entertainment industry by the early 1970s. She speaks of the great influence her father had upon her interviews. She followed her father's career path into movies, beginning with minor roles in various movies that were based mainly on the social issues of the Shah Shah Pahlavi. In time she became known as a child star, and with the release of Soltaneh Ghalbhaa (King of Hearts), her fame had already spread to all three Persian countries. As a teenager, she had begun modeling for top fashion magazines alongside acting, with roles in Ezteraab, Three Sisters and The Thirsty Ones. In 1974, Forouhar released a self-titled music album, which sold out in Afghanistan in less than a day. Two singles from the album, "Cheshma-e-Nour" and "Eshgh Mesle Atisheh" in particular where noted in entertainment magazines and praised as the greatest album introduced to Afghan society by a female singer, unseating the then favorite singer Googoosh as the most popular female singer. Her hairstyle from the music video for "Cheshma-e-Nour" became for years the most sought after look in Kabul. A survey conducted in the 70’s named Leila as every Afghan man’s "Fantasy Mistress", and her popularity continued until Iran became entangled in political turmoil. She is still very popular among Afghans and performed live with some famous Afghan singers like : Hangama, Habib Qaderi, Naim Popal, Asad Badie and some others. The Iranian Revolution's theocratic form of government opposed any form of art that it deemed corrupt. A revolutionary court order named popular singers and actors (both male and female) to show up for a court hearing, and Leila was the third person listed. It was well ingrained that these artists must renounce their careers or face legal consequences. Given these choices, many singers accepted the orders and withdrew from the entertainment industry.