Farah Pahlavi, the former queen of Iran, was born on October 14, 1938, the only child of Sohrab Diba (a member of the Pahlavi army) and Farideh Diba Ghotbi (a tailor's apprentice).

After her father died in Tabriz in 1947, Farah's mother, driven by extreme poverty, sent six-year-old Farah to Tehran to live with her uncle (Mohammad Ali Ghotbi) so that she could become the concubine of a Tabriz merchant named Ipakchi.

Farah Pahlavi received her early education in Tehran, and when her uncle wanted to send Farah's cousin (Reza Ghotbi) to study abroad, Farah insisted and begged that he send her abroad as well. In France, Farah became friends with Anoushirvan, the leader of Firouz, and through him she became a member of the Tudeh Party of Iran. Farah's uncle's financial situation was not such that he could cover all of her living expenses in Paris. Nahid Kalhor recounts: “Mr. Ghotbi only sent her 200 tomans a month, and Farah could not live in Paris on that amount, so she studied during the day and worked as a nanny at night! During her holidays and opportunities, she would visit Parisian homes to clean and do housework, etc., and earn money!” Farah also met Karim Pasha Bahadori there. This acquaintance progressed to the point that Farah spent most of her time with him; finally, in 1953, the two officially announced their engagement.

When Farah encountered financial difficulties, she was forced to return to Iran. General Hossein Ferdoust describes the Shah and Farah’s acquaintance in his memoirs as follows: “At that time, Farah, who was a poor girl, had left-wing communist tendencies. Such a girl, whom no rich man could like, went to Ardeshir Zahedi in Hesarak in desperation and for financial help so that she could live in Paris. If we do not know what Hesarak was, it may not be understandable. There was a villa in Hesarak where Zahedi and his friends would sit and wait to hunt for girls and women. If any female visitor was to Zahedi's liking, they would immediately go to the bedroom. If the girl was not to Zahedi's liking, he would give her to one of his friends who was present there, who would also go to the bedroom in the same Hesarak... Now, knowing this situation, this girl went to Zahedi in Hesarak to ask for money, meaning to make herself accepted by Zahedi. Zahedi must have not liked this girl when he told Mohammad Reza: "A girl has come here and if you allow me, I will bring her." The Shah accepted and proposed marriage to her without first investigating who she was! It is clear that Farah immediately accepted. The girl who had asked Zahedi for money an hour earlier for such a thing was now to marry the Shah! Thus, Farah Hesarek became the Queen of Iran and wore the crown at the coronation ceremony with the pomp and ceremony you have seen on television...!

Farah broke off her engagement with Karim Pasha, and her engagement to the Shah was announced on December 1, and they were married three weeks later. After Farah Diba married the Shah, all the Dibas from all over the country came to the palace, holding their family trees, and Farah, with her extreme generosity, accepted them all and gave each of them a position. Farah even entrusted her uncle with the contract work of the program organization in gratitude for his services. Reza Ghotbi also did not fail to benefit from this favor and was appointed head of the National Radio and Television Organization. Also, a month after Farah married the Shah - on 11 Bahman 1959 - Karim Pasha Bahadori was appointed as the head of Farah's special office!

Farah helped to carry out many cultural services during her reign, however, scholars have considered these actions to be a kind of media cover for political repression and corruption in the court. According to the Shah's mother, she was one of the most corrupt women in the court.

With the height of the Iranian public protests in January 1979, Farah fled Iran after stealing a huge fortune in jewelry from the Iranian people