[custom_adv] Shaparak "Shappi" Khorsandi (born 8 June 1973) is an persian-born British comedian and author. She is the daughter of the persian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. Her family left Iran when she was a child following the Islamic Revolution. [custom_adv] In January 2016, she became president of Humanists UK, and became vice-president in 2019. Her second book and first novel, Nina is Not OK, was published in 2016. [custom_adv] The daughter of Hadi Khorsandi, she was born in Iran and says her earliest memory is 'riding on a bicycle in Tehran, on my uncle's lap at dawn, to get chocolate milk'. She and her family were forced to flee from Iran to London after the Islamic Revolution following the publication of a satirical poem her father composed which was seen as critical of the revolutionary regime. [custom_adv] Khorsandi was raised without any religion, and identifies as an atheist and a humanist. She later became a patron of Humanists UK, which appointed her as its President for a three-year term from January 2016, succeeding Jim Al-Khalili. [custom_adv] Khorsandi graduated from King Alfred's College, now the University of Winchester, in 1995, with a degree in Drama, Theatre and television, then moved on to pursue a career in comedy. In 2010, the university awarded her an honorary doctorate. [custom_adv] Khorsandi was married to fellow comedian Christian Reilly, with whom she has a son, Cassius. They divorced in 2011. In November 2012, she announced on Twitter that she was expecting her second child, due in the summer of 2013. On 7 June 2013, Khorsandi gave birth to a baby girl, Genevieve. In a 2014 interview she said "I’m doing it all on my own, I have no contact with the father. But that’s fine, I’m not angry or bitter."
