Sonia Nassery Cole

Born: Unknown in Afghanistan

Sonia Nassery Cole is an Afghan-born American filmmaker, author, and human rights activist. She fled Afghanistan as a teenager during the Soviet invasion and settled in the United States. At age seventeen, she wrote a letter to President Ronald Reagan, which led to a meeting at the White House. She later founded the Afghanistan World Foundation in 2002 to support women and children in Afghanistan. As a filmmaker, she directed “The Bread Winner,” “The Black Tulip,” and “I Am You.” Her film “The Black Tulip” was Afghanistan’s official submission to the Academy Awards. She lives in New York and Beverly Hills.