Meet the "Shahs of Sunset" Cast

Bravo's reality show, "Shahs of Sunset," features a group of Iranian-American friends living in Beverly Hills, Calif., and balancing their privileged "Real Housewives"-like lifestyles with their Persian traditions. The show launched in 2012 with a cast of six.

of 07

Meet the "Shahs of Sunset" Cast

Meet the cast members who have made "Shahs of Sunset" one of Bravo's most addictive shows.

of 07

Asa Soltan Rahmati

Asa Soltan Rahmati is a singer and artist prominent in the Venice, Calif., art scene. A refugee from Iran, Rahmati fled to Europe as a young girl before moving to Los Angeles as a teenager. Rahmati lives a self-described "modern Persian gypsy bohemian lifestyle" and once shared a home with wealthy entrepreneur Shaahin Cheyene (Cheyene doesn't appear on the show).

Considered somewhat of an outsider in the "Shahs of Sunset" group, Rahmati raises the others' ire for her vehement independence and insistence on dating outside her race and religion.

of 07

Golnesa "GG" Gharachedaghi

GG Gharachedaghi, star of Shahs of Sunset — Bravo

Golnesa "GG" Gharachedaghi doesn't work, but spends her days shopping with friends and her nights searching for Mr. Right. Her lavish lifestyle is supported by her father, architect Mahmoud Gharachedaghi.

Although she's looking to start a family with the perfect Persian man, Gharachedaghi has yet to find one who has enough money and will put up with her fiery temper and lack of filter. In the Season Two premiere, Gharachedaghi got a little too friendly with a new beau at a dinner party.

of 07

Mercedes "MJ" Javid

Mercedes "MJ" Javid sells luxury real estate and lives in the Hollywood Hills. She spends her nights "networking" at parties and frequently fights with her opinionated mother, Vida. MJ struggles to differentiate herself, discover who she is, and find out what she really wants from life.

of 07

Lilly Ghalichi

Neelufar "Lilly" Ghalichi joined the "Shahs of Sunset" cast in the second season. Originally from Texas, Ghalichi is a licensed attorney, but—much to her parents' chagrin—has no interest in practicing law. Instead, Ghalichi moved to Los Angeles and started a line of provocative lingerie swimwear. Originally called "Swimgerie," the line merged with another swim label to become Have Faith Swimgerie. Ghalichi also founded Lilly Lashes, a line of fake eyelashes.

A self-proclaimed "Persian Princess," Ghalichi struggles to balance pressure from her family with her fashionable L.A. lifestyle and her long-distance, off-and-on-for-10-years relationship with her boyfriend, Ali, who lives in Houston.

of 07

Mike Shouhed

Mike Shouhed is a self-appointed member of L.A.'s "Persian Real Estate Mafia." A former high roller in Las Vegas commercial real estate, Shouhed went bankrupt in the 2008 housing crash and moved home to rebuild.

Although he claims to be a reformed player looking for a woman he could bring home to his mother, Shouhed often falls back into his playboy ways. In season two, he discovered that his dream girl wasn't Jewish, which threatened to derail the relationship before it really began. He comes from a long line of Iranian Jews.

of 07

Reza Farahan

Reza Farahan was born in Tehran, Iran, but raised in Beverly Hills. A prominent Los Angeles real estate agent, Farahan is one of the few openly gay Persian-Americans in his community and often deals with prejudice regarding his sexuality. He does have the support of his parents. An old-fashioned guy who wants a family and the American dream, complete with white picket fence, Farahan decided to join the cast after learning that bullied gay teens were committing suicide.

The son of a Jewish father and Muslim mother, Farahan also faces prejudice and ostracization from his own family. In particular, his father's relatives have rejected him for not being Jewish under the law of matrilineal descent.