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Happy Birthday to Empress Farah of Iran, who turns 79 today. The only child of Captain Sohrab Diba and Farideh Ghotbi, she grew up in Tehran and was educated in Paris. In 1959, she Farah Diba married, as his third wife, the Shah of Iran, orchestrated mainly by his daughter, Princess Shahnaz, who was only two years younger than Farah. The couple had four children, including the long awaited heir, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. As Empress, she established herself in the uncharted role of a muslim Consort, patronizing several charities and founding the Pahlavi University. She was also instrumental in promoting and protecting the art and culture of Iran. In the midst of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Empress Farah and her family left Iran, going into exile in a number of countries, when the Shah died in 1980. The Empress and her children remained in Egypt for two years, before moving to the United States. She now divides her time between Paris and Washington D.C, and published her memoir An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah. I wish HIM a very Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns!