Maryam Zaree (* 1983) is a German actor, filmmaker and author. She was born in Evin Prison in the Iranian capital Tehran. In 1985, her mother fled to Germany because of political persecution, and Maryam grew up in Frankfurt am Main from the age of two. She studied acting at the University of Film and Television “Konrad Wolf” in Potsdam-Babelsberg. As an actress, Zaree has played leading roles in film and television productions as well as on German-language theatre stages. She also works as a writer and director. With her film debut “Born in Evin”, Maryam Zaree returned to the beginning of her life in Evin Prison, where human rights violations and massacres of opposition members had taken place. For her artistic work, she has received numerous awards, including the Grimme Award, the Best Actress Award at the Festival Internacional de Cine de Monterrey, the German Film Award, the Hessian Film Award and the Cineuropa Audience Award.