Zara Durrani

photo by Andrew Leduc

The meaning of Zara: Eastern Brightness. Princess. Light. As magnificient as the dawn. Blooming Flower.

Zara Durrani is a renaissance woman. Born and raised in Pakistan, her family lived throughout southeast Asia before settling down in Vancouver, BC. She not only brought her suitcase but her passion for performing. Zara has been a prominent figure in the entertainment industry for almost a decade. She has held many titles including actress, model, television host, producer, director and activist. Through her work, she has strived to make a positive difference in the world.

Emmy's Event in Los Angeles

2012 was a very exciting and busy year for Zara as she returned to her first love; acting. She finished 3 feature films in 3 different countries, Canada, US and Mexico. In December, she wrapped filming on Cancel by famous Iranian director Mohammad Rahmanian. Zara plays the lead role in this film alongside Mahtab Nasirpour. She worked as supporting lead in Kavi Raz’s 2 part feature film Maple Heart/Rukh. Kavi Raz hand picked her for this role after auditioning 300 actresses in Los Angeles and Vancouver. For her role in Maple Heart Zara trained physically and also had to learn Punjabi. The film is loosely based on Bindy Johal a deceased South Asian notorious gangster’s life and deals with drugs and human trafficking.

Los Angeles photo by Kenneth Moore in LA

Zara was the leading lady in the short film Sindoor, that was nominated for 4 Leo Awards.

Zara Durrani is well known in Canada for her famous spiritual and entertainment talk show Life & Style with Zara. The show wrapped it’s first season with 13 episodes after airing on 4 networks across Canada. Zara has interviewed many influential Canadians and Hollywood celebrities for the show including David and Severn Suzuki (International Environmentalists), Bif Naked, Rick Campanelli, Adam Beach, Mayor Gregor, Lana Parrilla (CW Once Upon a Time), Thomas Dekker (CW Secret Circle) among others.

David Sutcliffe (Cracked), Zara Durrani, Pascalle Hutton (Arctic Air) and Tom Harrington (Marketplace)

As an activist Zara has voiced her opinions on women’s and children’s rights and eating disorders. She also worked as an official reporter for We Canada, the Canadian Initiative for Earth Summit 2012. She has  worked to support countries hit by disasters and encourages everyone to do their part for as long as they can.

“As an artist I want to help heal and inspire everyone through my work. “