View source for Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary

{{Other uses|Soraya (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{short description|Queen of Iran from 1951 to 1958}}
{{Infobox royalty
| consort      = yes
| name         = Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary
| image        = File:Court Portrait by SAKO of Queen Soraya 1953.jpg
| caption      = Soraya in 1953
| succession   = [[Queen consort of Iran]]
| reign        = 12 February 1951 – 15 March 1958
| reign-type   = Tenure
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]]<br>|1951|1958|reason=divorced}}
| father       = [[Khalil Esfandiary-Bakhtiary]]
| mother       = Eva Karl
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1932|6|22|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Isfahan]], [[Pahlavi Iran|Imperial State of Persia]]<br />(present-day Iran)
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|2001|10|25|1932|6|22|df=y}}
| occupation   = Actress (1965)
| death_place  = Paris, France
| place of burial = [[Westfriedhof (Munich)|Westfriedhof]], [[Munich]], [[Germany]]
}}

'''Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary''' ({{langx|fa|ثریا اسفندیاری بختیاری|Sorayâ Esfandiâri-Baxtyâri}}; 22 June 1932 – 25 October 2001) was the second wife of [[Shah]] [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] and [[Queen of Iran]] from 1951 to 1958. Their marriage suffered many pressures, particularly when it became clear that she was infertile. She rejected the Shah's suggestion that he might take a second wife in order to produce an heir, as he rejected her suggestion that he might abdicate in favor of his half-brother. In March 1958, their divorce was announced. After a brief career as an actress, and a liaison with Italian film director [[Franco Indovina]], Soraya lived alone in Paris until her death.

==Early life and education==
[[File:SorayaBaby.jpg|thumb|left|Soraya in childhood with her mother, {{c.|1935}}]]
Soraya was the elder of two children and the only daughter of [[Khalil Esfandiary-Bakhtiary]] (1901–1983),<ref name=bfam>{{cite web|title=Princess Soraya Esfandiari|url=http://www.bakhtiarifamily.com/soraya.php|publisher=Bakhtiari family|access-date=10 October 2012}}</ref> a [[Bakhtiari people|Bakhtiari]] nobleman and Iranian ambassador to [[West Germany]] in the 1950s, and his [[History of Germans in Russia, Ukraine and the Soviet Union|Russian-born German]] wife Eva Karl (1906–1994).<ref name=dar1apr>{{cite news|last=Kadivar|first=Dairus|title=Stardust memories|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Stardust+memories%3a+Darius+Kadivar+recalls+the+story+of+Soraya%2c+the...-a0162302223|access-date=11 June 2013|newspaper=The Middle East|date=1 April 2007}}</ref>

She was born in the English Missionary Hospital in [[Isfahan]] on 22 June 1932.<ref name=bfam/><ref name=lpost1980>{{cite news|title=Earlier Marriages Ended in Divorce. Deposed Shah of Iran|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y4lVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kz8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3179,3705806&dq=princess+fawzia&hl=en|access-date=16 July 2013|newspaper=[[The Leader Post]]|date=29 July 1980|agency=AP}}</ref> She had one sibling, a younger brother, Bijan (1937–2001). Her family had long been involved in the Iranian government and diplomatic corps. An uncle of her father, [[Sardar Assad]], was a leader in the [[Persian Constitutional Revolution]] of the early 20th century.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|title=Shah To Wed, Iran Hears|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=10 October 1950|page=12}}</ref> Soraya was raised in Berlin and Isfahan, and educated in London and Switzerland.<ref name=lpost1980/>

==Marriage==
In 1948, Soraya was introduced to the recently divorced [[Shah]] [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], by Forough Zafar Bakhtiari, a close relative of Soraya's, via a photograph taken by Goodarz Bakhtiary, in London, per Forough Zafar's request. At the time Soraya had completed high school at a Swiss [[finishing school]] and was studying the English language in London.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> They were soon engaged: the Shah gave her a 22.37 carat (4.474 g) diamond engagement ring.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020529/biz.htm|title=The Tribune, Chandigarh|work=The Tribune|location=India|access-date=16 August 2010}}</ref>

Soraya married the Shah at [[Marble Palace (Tehran)|Marble Palace]], [[Tehran]], on 12 February 1951.<ref name=dbm12feb>{{cite news|title=Gifts for wedding|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CnkoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RcgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4499,5742010&dq=marble+palace+tehran&hl=en|access-date=23 July 2013|newspaper=Daytona Beach Morning|date=12 February 1951|agency=AP|location=Tehran}}</ref> Originally the couple had planned to wed on 27 December 1950, but the ceremony was postponed due to the bride being ill.<ref>{{cite news|title=Wedding of Shah Postponed|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=22 December 1950|page=10}}</ref>

Although the Shah announced that guests should donate money to a special charity for the Iranian poor, among the wedding gifts were a mink coat and a desk set with black diamonds sent by [[Joseph Stalin]]; a [[Steuben Glass Works|Steuben glass]] ''Bowl of Legends'' designed by [[Sidney Waugh]] and sent by [[President of the United States]], [[Harry S. Truman]] and [[Bess Truman|Mrs. Truman]]; and silver [[Georgian period in British history|Georgian]] candlesticks from [[George VI of the United Kingdom|King George VI]] and [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon|Queen Elizabeth]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Teheran Awaits Wedding|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=11 February 1951|page=35}}</ref> The 2,000 guests included [[Aga Khan III]].

The ceremony was decorated with 1.5 tonnes of orchids, tulips and carnations, sent by plane from the Netherlands. Entertainment included an equestrian circus from Rome.<ref>{{cite news|title=Iran's Shah To Wed in Splendor Today|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 February 1951|page=6}}</ref> The bride wore a silver lamé gown studded with pearls and trimmed with [[marabou stork]] feathers,<ref>''Shah of Iran Wed in Palatial Rites'', ''The New York Times'', 13 February 1951, p. 14</ref> designed for the occasion by [[Christian Dior]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Iconic royal wedding gowns|url=http://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/fashion-articles/iconic-royal-wedding-gowns#slide-2|work=Harpers Bazaar}}</ref> Of all the Shah's many women, it is generally believed that Soraya was the "true love" of his life as she was the one he loved the most.<ref name="milani155160"/>

Soraya later wrote about herself and Iran: "I was a dunce. I knew next to nothing of the geography, the legends of my country; nothing of its history, nothing of the [[Muslim]] religion".<ref name="milani155160">Milani, Abbas ''The Shah'', London: Macmillan, 2011 pp. 155-60.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed--></ref> Soraya's upbringing had been entirely German and Catholic, which left her with a mixed identity, and made her the object of much distrust in Iran with Muslim clerics saying the Shah should not marry this "half-European girl" who was not raised a Muslim.<ref name="milani155160"/> Soraya wrote: "The feeling of being both Christian and Muslim, but at the same time of being neither one nor the other has engraved in my flesh two divergent poles between which my existence has unfolded. The one is ''methodically'' European, the other ''savagely'' Persian".<ref name="milani155160"/>

==Queen of Iran==
Following the marriage, Soraya headed the family charity in Iran.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hammed Shahidian|title=Women in Iran: Gender politics in the Islamic republic|url=https://archive.org/details/womeniniran0000shah|url-access=registration|access-date=7 December 2013|date=1 January 2002|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-31476-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/womeniniran0000shah/page/45 45]}}</ref> Soraya's marriage was troubled as Mohammad Reza's mother and sisters all saw her as a rival for his love just as they had with his first wife Princess [[Fawzia of Egypt]], and continually snubbed and inflicted petty humiliations on her. Soraya hated [[Ernest Perron]], the Shah's best friend and private secretary.<ref name="milani155160"/> Soraya called Perron a "homosexual who detested women, all women" and who "spread poison around the palace as well as our own quarters".<ref name="milani155160"/> She wrote that Perron was a "cunning, perfidious and Machiavellian" man who "roused hatred, stirred gossip, reveled in every intrigue".<ref name="milani155160"/> Much to her disgust, Mohammad Reza was "fascinated with this diabolical Swiss" who professed to be a "philosopher, poet, and a prophet"; the two men met every morning to discuss all the affairs of state in French as Perron was the man whose advice the Shah valued the most, and, as Soraya soon learned, other matters were discussed as well.<ref name="milani155160"/> Much to her revulsion, Perron visited her and made a series of what she called very "lewd" remarks and vulgar questions about her sex life with the Shah, which led her to throw him out of the Marble Palace in her fury.<ref name="milani155160"/>

During the confrontation with Prime Minister [[Mohammad Mosaddegh]] of the left-wing [[National Front (Iran)|National Front]], Mohammad Reza was often depressed, being in her words "somber and distressed" to the extent he even stopped playing poker with his friends, which had been one of his main passions. She stated that only sex could lift Mohammad Reza out of his depression, and she often invited the Shah into her bed to keep his spirits up.<ref name="milani155160"/> Several times, Soraya advised Mohammad Reza "to screw up his courage to the sticking point".<ref name="milani155160"/>

In August 1953, Soraya followed the Shah when he fled to Rome, and complained the Iranian ambassador to Italy failed to arrange for a place for them to stay while the royal couple were constantly harassed by the paparazzi.<ref>Milani, Abbas ''The Shah'', London: Macmillan 2011, p. 188.</ref> On 19 August 1953, Soraya remembered how a glum Mohammad Reza was talking about moving to the United States when he received a telegram announcing that Mosaddegh had been overthrown, leading him to shout with joy.<ref>Milani, Abbas ''The Shah'', London: Macmillan 2011, p. 189.</ref>

[[File:Soraya Pahlavi 1956 (cropped, retouched).jpg|thumb|Queen Soraya in 1956]]
After the 1953 coup overthrew Mosaddegh, the Shah's spirits picked up.<ref name="milani155160"/> One of Mohammad Reza and Soraya's favorite activities was masked balls, although Soraya complained the Shah always wore a lion costume (the symbol of royalty) while her attempts to appear as [[Madame de Pompadour]] were vetoed under grounds this was inappropriate for a queen, and she was forced to appear as [[Joan of Arc]] instead.<ref name="milani155160"/> Soraya always praised her husband when he displayed "European" personality traits while criticizing him for "Oriental" behavior.<ref name="milani155160"/> Soraya wrote despite his first marriage and "in spite of countless mistresses he had before me, Mohammad Reza was extremely shy with women . . . he did not like to show his feelings" while praising his eyes as "expressive. Dark brown, almost black, shining, at times hard, at times sad or gentle, they exuded charm and reflected his soul".<ref name="milani155160"/>

As Soraya was brought up in Europe, Iran was a "strange" country to her, which the Iranian-American historian [[Abbas Milani]] argued explained her attitudes towards ordinary Iranians, which he called borderline racist. Europe was always the model for excellence in everything for her.<ref name="milani155160"/> Soraya described as Queen having to visit "hospitals, orphanages, charities, the people's quarters with their ''djoubs'' open to the sky, with streams of dirt water which supplied their dwellings, having first served washerwomen, tramps and dogs. Poverty and squalor. Children with rickets, ravaged women and starving old men, the filth of the alleyways where the houses are no longer houses, where poverty, real poverty prevailed".<ref name="milani155160"/>

In contrast to the emphasis on the "filth" of [[Tehran]], Soraya wrote with open admiration about how Paris "dazzled" her.<ref name="milani155160"/> Soraya described her time in Paris as "every day my heart was filled with sunshine. Life was light... it was wonderful to be able to go to the cinemas, to drink a glass of lemonade on the terrace of the ''brassie''... a pleasure forbade."<ref name="milani155160"/> Soraya wrote about her joy at attending school in Europe, unlike the Iranian schools with "the grey uniform, the stove which smoked and polluted the classroom, lessons, homework, work to the point of exhaustion".<ref name="milani155160"/>

[[File:Mohammadreza pahlavi and soraya esfandiary.jpg|thumb|left|Soraya and the Shah in 1953]]
In October 1954, Mohammad Reza told Soraya he was concerned about the fact that she had not given him an heir and suggested that they visit the United States to seek the help of American fertility doctors.<ref name=" Milani, Abbas page 198">Milani, Abbas ''The Shah'', London: Macmillan, 2011 page 198</ref> In 1954-55, the Imperial couple paid a lengthy visit to the United States, leaving on 5 December 1954.<ref name=" Milani, Abbas page 198"/> In New York, Soraya visited doctors who assured her that an inability to bear a child was due to the "shocks, upsets and vexations of the last two years", which reassured her, but in Boston, the doctors told her she was infertile and could never have children.<ref name="Milani 199"/> Much of the length of their trip was due to the Shah's efforts to do something to console Soraya who took the news that she was infertile very badly.<ref name="Milani 199"/> Unaware of what the doctors had revealed to Soraya, ''Newsweek'' sarcastically wrote "even the ''Shahanshah'' (King of Kings), Vice Regent of God, Shadow of the Almighty and Center of the Universe deserves a vacation....They [the imperial couple] have spent this winter in a private visit to the U.S...physical check-ups in New York hospitals, sight-seeing in San Francisco, dancing the mambo in Hollywood, skiing in Sun Valley, water-skiing in Miami Beach".<ref name="Milani 199"/>

Soraya was fascinated with Hollywood and enjoyed meeting American film stars during her stay in Los Angeles.<ref name="Milani 199">Milani, Abbas ''The Shah'', London: Macmillan, 2011 page 199.</ref> During her time in Los Angeles, Soraya met her favorite stars who were [[Grace Kelly]], [[Lauren Bacall]], [[Bob Hope]], [[Esther Williams]], and [[Humphrey Bogart]].<ref name="Milani 199"/> A photograph of Queen Soraya water-skiing in Miami while wearing a bikini became extremely controversial in Iran.<ref name="Milani 199"/> Soraya was widely condemned for the immorality of wearing her swimsuit, which was not considered a proper dress for a Muslim, and the photo was banned in Iran in an attempt to silence the criticism of the ''[[ulema]]''.<ref name="Milani 199"/>

On 12 February 1955, the imperial couple left the United States for the United Kingdom on the famous liner, the ''Queen Mary''.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 200">Milani, Abbas ''The Shah'', London: Macmillan, 2011 page 200</ref> In London, Mohammad Reza and Soraya had dinner at [[Buckingham Palace]] with Queen [[Elizabeth II]]; [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]]; the Prime Minister Sir [[Winston Churchill]] and the Foreign Secretary Sir [[Anthony Eden]].<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 200"/> In the final part of their trip, the imperial couple visited [[Cologne]] where they stayed with Soraya's parents.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 200"/> The Shah's daughter by his first marriage, [[Shahnaz Pahlavi|Princess Shahnaz]], who was studying in Belgium, also went to Cologne to see her father, which caused a jealous Soraya to throw what was called an "embarrassing tantrum", demanding that her husband show love only to her, which finally led to the Shah to tell her to shut up.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 200"/> On 12 March 1955, the Shah and the Queen returned to Tehran, where they were pleased that, despite the fact it was raining, thousands of people had come out to welcome them back.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 200"/> The Shah, who disliked his prime minister, General [[Fazlollah Zahedi]], was well pleased that Zahedi who was suffering from gout was visibly uncomfortable standing out in the rain to welcome him back at the Tehran airport.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 200"/>

Later in 1955, the Shah resumed the persecution of the [[Baháʼí Faith]] minority, razing their temples. The British diplomat [[Denis Wright]] protested to the Shah's minister [[Asadollah Alam]], only to be told that Mohammad Reza had to do something to appease the ''ulema'' after the photograph of Soraya in a bikini appeared, which had enraged Ayatollah [[Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi]], a key ally of the Shah.<ref name="Milani 199"/>

==Divorce==
[[File:Shah lighting cigarette for his wife Sorraya.jpg|thumb|Shah lighting a cigarette for his wife Soraya]] 
Though the wedding took place during heavy snow, deemed a good omen, the imperial couple's marriage had disintegrated by early 1958 owing to Soraya's apparent infertility. The Shah's only child, his daughter Princess Shahnaz, had married [[Ardeshir Zahedi]], the son of the former Prime Minister, General [[Fazlollah Zahedi]], whom Mohammad Reza despised and had dismissed in 1955.<ref>Milani, Abbas ''The Shah'', London: Macmillan, 2011, pages 212-213</ref> The Shah told Soraya that "a Zahedi could not continue the dynasty of the Pahlavis", and that she had to give him a son so the House of Pahlavi could continue.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 213">Milani, Abbas ''The Shah'', London: Macmillan, 2011 page 213</ref> She had sought treatment in Switzerland and France, and in St. Louis with [[William Masters]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Thomas|last=Maier|title=Masters of Sex|publisher=Basic Books|year=2013|chapter=6}}</ref> The Shah suggested that he take a second wife to produce an heir, but she rejected that option.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite news|title=Iran Shah Divorces His Childless Queen|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=14 March 1958|page=2}}</ref>

In an attempt to save her position as Queen, Soraya told the Shah that he should change the constitution of 1909 to allow one of his half-brothers to succeed him, which Mohammad Reza told her would require "the approval of the Council of the Wise Men" first.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 213"/> Soraya, who had never read the constitution, did not know that there was no "Council of Wise Men", which was the Shah's way of putting off a difficult decision by lying.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 213"/> Mohammad Reza had already amended the constitution twice, so he must have known there was no clause calling for a "Council of Wise Men" to approve amendments.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 213"/> The Shah's domineering mother hated Soraya and was pressuring him to divorce her, telling him it was his duty to father a son to continue the House of Pahlavi.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 213"/> Mohammad Reza persuaded Soraya to leave Iran while he promised he would call the "Council of Wise Men" to change the constitution.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 213"/> Despite this promise, Soraya sensed her husband had turned against her, and before she left Iran one courtier remembered she had "systematically put her house in order".<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 213"/>

She left Iran in February and eventually went to her parents' home in Cologne, Germany, where the Shah sent his wife's uncle, Sardar Assad in early March 1958, in a failed attempt to convince her to return to Iran.<ref>{{cite news|title=Shah's Plea to Queen Held Vain |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=6 March 1958|page=3}}</ref> Soraya rejected the offer that she remain queen while the Shah would take a second wife, writing in her memoirs that Mohammad Reza was "fundamentally an Oriental", drawing an unfavorable contrast with the [[Edward VIII|Duke of Windsor]] "who sacrificed his throne for love", writing that only "Orientals" sacrificed love for their thrones.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 213"/> On 5 March, Mohammad Reza phoned her to tell her she would have to accept him taking a second wife or else he would divorce her.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 214">Milani, Abbas ''The Shah'', London: Macmillan, 2011 page 214</ref> On 10 March, a council of advisers met with the Shah to discuss the situation of the troubled marriage and the lack of an heir.<ref>{{cite news|title=Iran Decision Pending|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=11 March 1958|page=2}}</ref> Four days later, it was announced that the imperial couple would divorce.

In a press statement issued by the Iranian government, it was announced that Soraya had agreed to the divorce while Soraya later claimed she had last heard from her husband on 5 March and she had not been informed beforehand.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 214"/> It was, the 25-year-old queen said, "a sacrifice of my own happiness".<ref name="autogenerated3">"Queen of Iran Accepts Divorce As Sacrifice", ''The New York Times'', 14 March 1958, p. 4.</ref> She later told reporters that her husband had no choice but to divorce her.<ref>"Soraya Arrives for U.S. Holiday", ''The New York Times'', 23 April 1958, p. 35.</ref> The British Ambassador to Iran reported "Soraya was the Shah's only true love" and he was "a man at an emotional cross-roads", who was happy to be able to marry again while unable to "bring himself to face it" that he had just divorced Soraya.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 214"/>

[[File:Ex keizerin Soraya in Noordwijk, vlnr Prins Byra , Prinses Soraya en haar moeder, Bestanddeelnr 910-5690.jpg|thumb|left|Soraya at [[Noordwijk]] beach after her divorce, August 1959]]
On 21 March 1958, the [[Nowruz]], a weeping Shah announced his divorce to the Iranian people in a speech that was broadcast on radio and television; he said that he would not remarry in haste. The headline-making divorce inspired French writer [[Françoise Mallet-Joris]] to write a hit pop song, ''Je veux pleurer comme Soraya'' ("I Want to Cry Like Soraya"). The marriage officially ended on 6 April 1958. According to a report in ''The New York Times'', extensive negotiations had preceded the divorce in order to convince Queen Soraya to allow her husband to take a second wife. The Queen, however, citing what she called the sanctity of marriage, decided that "she could not accept the idea of sharing her husband's love with another woman."<ref name="autogenerated2"/>

In a statement issued to the Iranian people from her parents' home in Germany, Soraya said, "Since His Imperial Majesty Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi has deemed it necessary that a successor to the throne must be of direct descent in the male line from generation to generation to generation, I will with my deepest regret in the interest of the future of the State and of the welfare of the people in accordance with the desire of His Majesty the Emperor sacrifice my own happiness, and I will declare my consent to a separation from His Imperial Majesty."<ref name="autogenerated3"/> Soraya was well rewarded for the divorce with the Shah buying her a penthouse apartment in Paris that was valued at US$3 million, paying her a monthly alimony of US$7,000 (that continued to be paid until the Islamic Revolution overthrew Mohammad Reza in 1979), together with various luxuries such as a 1958 [[Rolls-Royce Phantom IV]], a [[Mercedes-Benz 300 SL]], a [[Bulgari]] ruby, a [[Van Cleef & Arpels]] brooch and a [[Harry Winston]] platinum ring with a 22.37-carat diamond that after her death was sold at the estate auction for US$838,350.<ref name="Milani, Abbas page 214"/>

After the divorce, the Shah, who had told a reporter who asked about his feelings for the former Queen that "nobody can carry a torch longer than me", indicated his interest in marrying [[Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy]], a daughter of the deposed Italian king [[Umberto II of Italy|Umberto II]]. In an editorial about the rumors surrounding the marriage of "a Muslim sovereign and a Catholic princess", the Vatican newspaper, ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'', considered the match "a grave danger".<ref>{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Hofmann |title=Pope Bans Marriage of Princess to Shah |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=1959-02-24 |page=1}}</ref>

==Career as actress==
[[File:1962 Soraya by Wolfgang Fischer-01.jpg|thumb|Soraya in 1962]]

After her divorce, Soraya was in a relationship with the director [[Maximilian Schell]] and the industrial heir [[Gunter Sachs]] and also lived briefly in [[Munich]]. Later Soraya moved to France. She launched a brief career as a film actress, for which she used only her first name. Initially, it was announced that she would portray [[Catherine the Great]] in a movie about the Russian empress by [[Dino De Laurentiis]], but that project fell through.<ref>"Soraya Taking Screen Role", ''The New York Times'', 8 October 1963, p. 48.</ref> Instead, she starred in the 1965 movie [[I tre volti|''I tre volti'' (''The Three Faces'')]]<ref>{{IMDb title|0058681|I tre volti}}</ref> and became the companion of its Italian director, [[Franco Indovina]] (1932–72).<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.hello-magazine.com/royalty/2001/10/25/princesssoraya|title=Princess Soraya, ex-wife of the Shah of Iran, dies in Paris|access-date=27 June 2008|date=25 October 2001|publisher=[[Hello! (magazine)|Hello!]] Magazine}}</ref> She appeared as a character named Soraya in the 1965 movie ''[[She (1965 film)|She]]''.<ref>{{IMDb title|id=0059710|title=She}}</ref>
After Indovina's death in a plane crash, she spent the remainder of her life in Europe, succumbing to depression, which she outlined in her 1991 memoir, ''Le Palais des solitudes'' (''The Palace of Loneliness'').{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

==Later years in Paris==
During her last years, Soraya lived in Paris on 46 [[avenue Montaigne]]. She occasionally attended social events like the parties given by the [[House of La Rochefoucauld|Duchess de La Rochefoucauld]]. Her friend and event organizer Massimo Gargia tried to cheer her up and make her meet young people. Soraya was a regular client of the hairdresser Alexandre Zouari. She also enjoyed going to the bar and the lobby of the Hotel [[Plaza Athénée]] located opposite her apartment. She was often accompanied by her former [[lady-in-waiting]] and loyal friend Madame Chamrizad Firouzabadian. Another friend was Parisian socialite Lily Claire Sarran.{{cn|date=January 2022}}

In 1979, Soraya wrote to Mohammad Reza as he was dying of cancer in Panama, saying she still loved him and wanted to see him one last time.<ref name="milani430431"/> Mohammad Reza was greatly moved by her letters, and wrote back to her saying he also still loved her and wanted to see her one last time as well, but said his third wife [[Farah Pahlavi|Empress Farah]] could not be present, which presented problems as she was constantly by the former Shah's bedside as he lay dying.<ref name="milani430431">Milani, Abbas ''The Shah'', London: Macmillan, 2011, pages 430-31.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed--></ref> In 1980, it was agreed that Soraya would visit Mohammad Reza in Cairo, but he died before she could make the trip, which led Milani to comment that Mohammad Reza and Soraya were true "star-crossed lovers".<ref name="milani430431"/> Soraya did not communicate with Farah, even when both lived in Paris.{{cn|date=January 2022}}

==Death==
[[File:Soraya-Mutter Erde fec.jpg|thumb|Grave of Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary in Munich, 5th Grave in Quarter Nr. 143 in front of the Quarter Nr. 149]] Soraya died on 25 October 2001 of undisclosed causes in her apartment in Paris, France; she was 69.<ref name=bpost26oct>{{cite news|title=Soraya, the second wife of Shah of Iran, dies|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Soraya%2c+the+second+wife+of+Shah+of+Iran%2c+dies.-a079470137|access-date=11 June 2013|newspaper=The Birmingham Post|date=26 October 2001}}</ref><ref name=wp25oc>{{cite news|title=Wife of Former Shah of Iran Dies|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20011025/aponline212922_000.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921073729/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20011025/aponline212922_000.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 September 2013|access-date=16 July 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=25 October 2001|agency=AP|location=Paris}}</ref> Upon learning of her death, her younger brother, Bijan, sadly commented, "After her, I don't have anyone to talk to."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avairan.com/bijan-nimrooz.htm|title=Article Written By Dr Abbassi For Nimrooz Newspaper|publisher=Avairan|access-date=16 August 2010|archive-date=7 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707195317/http://www.avairan.com/bijan-nimrooz.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranian.com/CyrusKadivar/2002/June/Soraya/index.html|title=Soraya Esfandiari, Cyrus Kadivar|publisher=The Iranian|access-date=16 August 2010|date=June 2002}}</ref> Bijan died one week later.<ref>[http://www.bakhtiarifamily.com/soraya.php Bakhtiari family website - Soraya Esfandiari Bakhtiari]</ref><ref name=zoe6apr/>

After her funeral at the [[American Cathedral in Paris]] on 6 November 2001 which was attended by Princess [[Ashraf Pahlavi]], Prince [[Gholam Reza Pahlavi]], the [[Henri, Count of Paris (1933–2019)|Count]] and [[Micaela, Countess of Paris|Countess of Paris]], the [[Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples|Prince]] and [[Marina Doria|Princess of Naples]], Prince Michel of Orléans, and [[Princess Ira von Fürstenberg]] she was buried in the [[Westfriedhof (Munich)|Westfriedhof]] Quarter Nr. 143, in a cemetery in Munich, along with her parents and brother.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.angelfire.com/de/verenasroyalty/Royalnews2001b.html|title=Royal News 2001|publisher=Angelfire|date=14 December 2001|access-date=16 August 2010}}</ref>

Since her death, several women have come forward claiming to be her illegitimate daughter, reportedly born in 1962. According to the Persian-language weekly ''Nimrooz'' none of the claims has been confirmed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avairan.com/prinsesssoraya1.htm|title=Tabarzadi|publisher=Avairan|access-date=16 August 2010|archive-date=30 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630030820/http://www.avairan.com/prinsesssoraya1.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The newspaper also published an article in 2001 which suggested, without proof, that Princess Soraya and her brother had been murdered.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avairan.com/bijan-nimrooz.htm|title=Online.net Hébergement Mutualisé Professionnel|publisher=Avairan|access-date=16 August 2010|archive-date=7 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707195317/http://www.avairan.com/bijan-nimrooz.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Her belongings were sold at auction in Paris in 2002, for more than $8.3&nbsp;million.<ref name=zoe6apr>{{cite news|author=Irene Zoeck|title=Fortune of Shah's former wife goes to German state|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/1426783/Fortune-of-Shahs-former-wife-goes-to-German-state.html|access-date=16 July 2013|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=6 April 2003|location=Munich}}</ref>

==Memoirs==

Princess Soraya wrote two memoirs. The first, published in 1964 and published in the United States by Doubleday, was ''Princess Soraya: Autobiography of Her Imperial Highness''. A decade before her death, she and a collaborator, Louis Valentin, wrote another memoir in French, ''Le Palais des solitudes'' (Paris: France Loisirs/Michel Laffon, 1991), which was translated into English as ''Palace of Solitude'' (London: Quartet Books Ltd, 1992); {{ISBN|0-7043-7020-4}}.

==Legacy==
[[File:Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari (cropped).JPG|thumb|Statue of Soraya, by [[Renato Signorini]] in 1955]]
Soraya's divorce from the Shah inspired French songwriter Francoise Mallet-Jorris to write "''Je veux pleurer comme Soraya''" (I Want to Cry Like Soraya).<ref name=dar1apr/><ref name=wp25oc/> A French rose grower bred a sunflower in the former queen's honor, which he called "Empress Soraya".<ref>{{cite news |title=Empress Soraya rose |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=1958-06-17 |page=29}}</ref>

An Italian/German television movie about the princess's life, ''{{ill|Soraya (film)|it|3=Soraya (miniserie televisiva)|lt=Soraya}}'' (a.k.a. ''Sad Princess''), was broadcast in 2003, starring [[Anna Valle]] as Soraya and [[Erol Sander]] as the Shah.<ref name=khaleej09>{{cite news |title=Making Sense of Iran |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Making+Sense+of+Iran.-a0208925464 |access-date=19 July 2013 |newspaper=Khaleej Times |date=3 October 2009}}</ref> French actress [[Mathilda May]] appeared as the Shah's sister, Princess [[Shams Pahlavi]].<ref>{{IMDb title |id=0348076 |title=Soraya}}</ref>

==Filmography==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Film and television
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1953
| ''Zwischen Glück und Krone''
| Herself
| Archive footage
|-
| 1965
| ''[[I tre volti]]''
| Herself/Linda /Mrs. Melville
| 
|-
| 1965
| ''[[She (1965 film)|She]]''
| Soraya
| 
|-
|| 1998
| ''Legenden''
| Herself
| Episode: "Soraya"
|}

==References==

{{Reflist
| colwidth = 30em
| refs =
}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiary}}
* [http://cremeriedeparis.com/princesssoraya/ Princess Soraya, souvenirs about Internet lessons in Paris]
* {{IMDb name|0814735}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Pahlavi]]|22 June|1932|26 October|2001}}
|-
{{s-roy|ir}}
|-
{{S-vac|last=[[Fawzia of Egypt]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Queen consort of Iran]]|years=1951–1958}}
{{s-vac|next=[[Farah Pahlavi|Farah Diba]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Pahlavi dynasty}}
{{Portal bar|Iran|Biography|Politics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esfandiary, Soraya}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Munich Waldfriedhof]]
[[Category:Burials at the Westfriedhof (Munich)]]
[[Category:Converts to Christianity from Shia Islam]]
[[Category:Dames Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic]]
[[Category:French Christians]]
[[Category:French people of German descent]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Iranian Christians]]
[[Category:Iranian emigrants to France]]
[[Category:Iranian emigrants to Switzerland]]
[[Category:Iranian film actresses]]
[[Category:Iranian memoirists]]
[[Category:Iranian people of German descent]]
[[Category:Lur women]]
[[Category:Royalty from Berlin]]
[[Category:People from Isfahan]]
[[Category:People from Paris]]
[[Category:People of Pahlavi Iran]]
[[Category:Wives of Pahlavi Shahs]]