[1] Her father, Abbas Jahansouzshahi, and her mother, Mahmonir Soroushazar, an interior designer, divorced when she was ten years old.

[13][14] Her father, who was working at the American embassy in Iran, was slated for execution when the last Shah's regime collapsed in 1979, but was able to flee the country.

[1] While working as an extra on the set of Dr. T and the Women in Texas, Shahi met director Robert Altman, who encouraged her to move to Hollywood,[1] where she received roles in several series, including Alias, Dawson's Creek, Reba and Supernatural.

In 2005, she appeared in the supporting character role of DJ Carmen de la Pica Morales on The L Word, which she joined in its second season.

In 2007, she secured a small role in Rush Hour 3 as Zoe, a scantily clad rich girl who is pursued by Chris Tucker's character, Detective Carter.

[28] Shahi was cast as a recurring love interest for Taylor Kinney's character Lt. Kelly Severide on NBC's show Chicago Fire in October 2012.

[29] She was cast in the recurring role of Sameen Shaw on Person of Interest, making her first appearance in the second-season episode "Relevance", which aired in February 2013.

[36] In 2018, Shahi played a recurring role on The Rookie as Jessica Russo, a private security consultant and former FBI hostage rescue specialist, who becomes John Nolan's girlfriend.

[6] In 2019, Shahi joined the cast of Showtime's City on a Hill as recurring character Rachel Behnam, an investigator for the district attorney.

[5] In August 2020, Shahi started filming Sex/Life, a Netflix series inspired by BB Easton's book "44 Chapters About 4 Men", in Toronto, Canada.

[37][38] She played Billie, a housewife struggling to remain a devoted wife and mother when tempted by an old flame and the freer days of her youth.

[38] In October, she was cast as Adrianna Tomaz in the 2022 DCEU film Black Adam opposite Dwayne Johnson and Pierce Brosnan.

The lawsuit also alleged sexual harassment, with Shahi sharing a lewd photograph with the nanny, and grabbing her backside commenting "you have a perfect little butt.