Keri Shahidi Is Her Daughter Yara’s Biggest Supporter

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Keri Salter Shahidi, Yara’s African-American mother, has always been super supportive of her daughter’s endeavors. In addition to looking alike, Yara told Refinery29 in a March 2019 interview that she and her mom are close.

“Mommy and I are genuinely best friends, while she is still very much my parent,” Yara Shahidi told the entertainment website. “It helps that we’re the same person in different bodies with just minor deviations.”

Keri Shahidi is very close to her daughter Yara Sayeh ShahidiKeri Shahidi, pictured with her daughter at the 25th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2019, is very close to Yara Sayeh Shahidi

In May 2018, the mother and daughter answered random questions from Jimmy Fallon about each other and tried to guess each other’s answers.

Yara’s father is Afshin Shahidi, an Iranian-American photographer who worked with American singer-songwriter Prince for over two decades.

In a May 2018 interview with Town & Country, she opened up about having parents from different cultures.

“Because of my family’s background, I understand how interconnected cultures are,” Shahidi told the magazine.

“My love of history, or even being socially engaged, stems from having, firsthand, people to care about around the globe and at a young age expanding my community beyond these fake borders we put on each other.”

Yara Shahidi with her parents Keri Salter Shahidi and Afshin ShahidiYara Shahidi with her parents Keri Salter Shahidi and Afshin Shahidi attend the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation Hosts 22nd Annual “Taste for a Cure” event honoring Yael and Scooter Braun at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel on April 28, 2017, in Beverly Hills, California

In an interview with Teen Vogue published the same month, Grown-ish star Yara Shahidi discussed how her mom has been an important source of inspiration for her. She was also asked what’s the best advice Keri had given her.

That my opinion is worthy. As a young girl, there are so many pressures, especially as a woman of color. She taught me to understand that I am qualified for any of the conversations that I’m a part of, whether it’s with executives or a school principal. I’m supposed to be there.

To one of the 2020 Golden Globes after-parties, Yara turned heads in a bright yellow cascading crepe mini dress from the Carolina Herrera Pre-Fall 2020 Collection ($3,445 at Moda Operandi).

Yara Shahidi in a bright yellow Carolina Herrera dress attends The Walt Disney Company 2020 Golden Globe Awards Post-Show Celebration Yara Shahidi in a bright yellow Carolina Herrera dress attends The Walt Disney Company 2020 Golden Globe Awards Post-Show Celebration at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California

Accessorizing with diamond earrings from Messika Jewelry, the 19-year-old actress paraded her legs in rose gold Christian Louboutin ‘Iriza’ crystal-embellished d’Orsay pumps.

Yara Shahidi flaunts her legs in Christian Louboutin pumpsYara Shahidi flaunts her legs in Christian Louboutin pumps

Carolina Herrera Cascading Crepe Mini Dress, $3,445 at Moda Operandi

Carolina Herrera Cascading Crepe Mini Dress

Two months earlier, the Grown-ish actress also attended the 2019 Glamour Women of the Year Awards in a colorful “State of Undress” skirt in floral-printed silk faille with inverse-printed details from the Schiaparelli Fall 2019 Haute Couture Collection paired with a crystal knit sports bra and black ankle-strap sandals.

Yara Shahidi flaunts her legs on the red carpet at the 2019 Glamour Women of the Year AwardsYara Shahidi flaunts her legs on the red carpet at the 2019 Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on November 11, 2020

Credit: FayesVision / WENN / Instar