Shaista Latif Biography: Age, Plays, Movies & TV Shows, Net Worth, Height, Partner

Shaista Latif is a queer Afghan-Canadian actress, playwright, director, and multidisciplinary artist known for her role as Soraya in the Oscar-nominated animated film The Breadwinner (2017).

Her work, including the critically acclaimed solo show The Archivist and Graceful Rebellions, explores themes of identity, inclusion, and the immigrant experience.

A 2016 Siminovitch Prize protégée, she has performed at festivals like SummerWorks and Ontario Scene, and is a published playwright with Graceful Rebellions (Playwrights Canada Press).

Latif’s workshops, such as How I Learned to Serve Tea, focus on empowering marginalized artists through creative expression.

Profile

• Full Name: Shaista Latif
• Stage Name: Shaista Latif
• Born: 1990s
• Age: 30s
• Birthplace: Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
• Nationality: Canadian
• Occupation: Actress, Playwright, Director, Facilitator
• Height: Unknown
• Parents: Unknown
• Siblings: Unknown
• Spouse: None
• Children: None
• Relationship: Unknown
• Net Worth: $500,000–$1 million

Early Life and Education

Shaista Latif was born in the early 1990s in Scarborough, Ontario, though her exact date of birth is unknown. Born into a working-class Afghan-Canadian family. Details about her birth date, parents, and siblings are not publicly available, reflecting her preference for privacy.

She pursued writing courses and developed her skills in comedy and directing, eventually studying at Second City’s conservatory program, where she became the youngest graduate. Her ethnicity is Afghan, and her religious beliefs are not publicly disclosed.

Career

Shaista Latif began her career in comedy and theater, performing at Toronto’s Bad Dog Theatre and Annex Theatre. Her acting debut included the role of Ann in This Is the Life (2009), followed by small roles in projects like My Thesis Film: A Thesis Film by Erik Anderson (2018) and Meredith in TallBoyz (2019).

Her most prominent role was voicing Soraya in The Breadwinner (2017), a Cartoon Saloon film executive-produced by Angelina Jolie, which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. The role highlighted her ability to convey emotional depth in animation.

As a playwright, Latif premiered Graceful Rebellions at the 2013 Rhubarb Festival, a series of monologues about three Afghan women across different decades, addressing identity and cultural barriers. The show, developed through Buddies in Bad Times Theatre’s Young Creators Unit, toured festivals like Ontario Scene and Halifax Queer Acts.

Her multidisciplinary performance The Archivist (2017), blending music, text, and video, explored war, identity, and archiving, and was presented at SummerWorks and the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She also created How I Learned to Serve Tea (2019–2022), a workshop and performance piece with Why Not Theatre, focusing on inclusion and resource-sharing, presented at the Progress Festival and SummerWorks.

Latif has directed 11 comedic productions, including ELLAmentary and Beyond the Moors at the Toronto Fringe Festival, and assisted on The Wanderers (2014) and On Trial the Long Doorway (2017). Her video installation Learning the Language of My Enemies was showcased at the Koffler Gallery in 2019.

In 2023, she performed in Like Eagles with Osama Shalabi at Le Vivier’s Semaine du Neuf. Currently, she leads a research residency at Dancemakers Theatre with her Working Class Lab, collaborating with eight working-class artists to address precarity in the arts.

Recent posts on X mention her involvement in a 2024 animated Sony film and upcoming projects in 2025, including Big Mood Season 2 and a National Theatre play.

Social Media

• Instagram Handle: @shaistalatifmakes
• Twitter Handle: @Shaista_Latif

Personal Life

Shaista Latif’s personal life, including relationships and family details, remains private. Latif is passionate about mentoring marginalized artists, particularly those from immigrant and diasporic communities, through workshops and her Working Class Lab.

Filmography

• This Is the Life (2009) – Ann
• The Breadwinner (2017) – Soraya (Voice)
• My Thesis Film: A Thesis Film by Erik Anderson (2018) – Supporting Role
• TallBoyz (2019) – Meredith
• Like Eagles (2023) – Performer

Net Worth

Shaista Latif has an estimated net worth of between $500,000 and $1 million USD. Her income derives from her acting roles, notably in The Breadwinner and TallBoyz, as well as her work as a playwright and director for productions like The Archivist and Graceful Rebellions.

Additional revenue comes from her workshops, such as How I Learned to Serve Tea, and her facilitation work with organizations like Why Not Theatre and Koffler Centre for the Arts.