Distinguished Alumna, Claire Trevor School of the Arts
Actor, storyteller and advocate Sepideh Moafi, M.F.A. ’13 is this year’s recipient of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts Distinguished Alumni Award.
Sepideh’s path to UC Irvine began in opera. A working singer preparing for the young-artist circuit, she grew curious about acting and what performance could become without music. After appearing in As You Like It and playing Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, she pursued graduate training in acting. That search led her to UC Irvine’s masters of fine arts program in drama, where time with faculty and students convinced her she had found the right home.
At UC Irvine, Sepideh developed both her craft and the independence that would shape her career. When major performance opportunities were limited, she created her own: workshops, plays, collaborations and a one-woman production of Nine Parts of Desire, a documentary drama by Heather Raffo about the lives of contemporary Iraqi women. By her third year, she was taking on roles ranging from The Wild Party to The Importance of Being Earnest and The Rose Tattoo.
After graduation, Sepideh moved to New York, assembled her own creative community and steadily built a career across stage and screen. Her work has included acclaimed roles in The Deuce, The L Word: Generation Q and Black Bird, along with independent projects and advocacy that reflect her commitment to stories about identity, culture and shared human experience.
Today, she stars as Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi in The Pitt, a role that draws on both her theater and television experience. For the show’s thrilling, intricate trauma scenes, she rehearses repeatedly with fellow actors until the technical choreography becomes instinctive, leaving room for natural human interactions to draw viewers into the experience.
Her performance has brought new attention to a career built on disciplined work, curiosity and a willingness to create opportunities where none were obvious. Her career reflects a lesson she began learning at UC Irvine: An artist’s voice is something to develop, protect and use to open possibilities for others.
“Sepideh is an outstanding model of UC Irvine’s mission of research, teaching and creative expression … because she models the unwavering generosity of spirit, innovation, creativity and community engagement that distinguishes our Anteater alumni in the arts.”
Join us as we honor this year’s distinguished recipients and celebrate the remarkable achievements of the Anteater community.
