Jamileh (dancer)

Jamileh was born in 1946[1] in Tehran, Iran. Her father, Rajab Vâksi, was a walnut seller who later became an actor in the siâh theater scene in Iran. Her uncle, Morshed Nasrollâh, was a zarb player and an itinerant bard. As a child, she became proficient in belly dancing and performed with her father.[2]

Jamileh dancing for Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis in Tehran, Iran in 1972

Jamileh was first involved in the theater scene and mostly performed a self-taught style of Bollywood dance in traditional cafés.[3] Her first marriage was to J.R., a singer of the ruhowzi genre of musical comedy in traditional Persian theater. She then married Mohammad Arbâb, the owner of the Bakara-Mulan Ruzh cabaret.[2] After marrying Arbâb, she continued dancing and performed in cabarets such as Arbâb's Bakara-Mulan Ruzh as well as in her own cabaret, Lidu. Her marriage to Arbâb lasted until his death in 1973.[3]

Much like other Iranian entertainers of the 20th century such as Susan, Delkash, and Googoosh, Jamileh's career dancing in cabarets provided her the opportunity to enter Iranian cinema, which would eventually lead her to national fame.[4] She began her acting career after her marriage to Arbâb,[3] aiming to be recognized as a "dancer-actor" in Iranian cinema, like Samia Gamal in Egyptian cinema.[5] She mainly played dance-related roles in more than 25 films,[6] including roles in Zan-e Vahshi-e Vahshi (1969), Dokhtar-e Zalem Bala (1970), and 'Aroos-e Paberahneh (1974).[7] Many of the films she starred in were produced by Ferdowsi Film, owned by her husband Arbâb, including the 1971 film Khoshgeltarin Zan-e 'Alam. She was reportedly the highest-paid cabaret actor of Iranian origin in 1974,[3] and performed for prominent foreign guests including Henry Kissinger and Aristotle Onassis.[8]

After fleeing Iran,[6] Jamileh continued her career in Los Angeles, California, where she settled down.[9] She performed frequently at the Cabaret Tehran in Los Angeles for more than 20 years and through her fifties.[6][10]