What happened to ‘Zombie Angelina Jolie’ after showing real face and leaving spotlight
Several years ago, a woman was dubbed the 'Zombie Angelina Jolie' after she revealed a dramatic appearance.
She went by the name Sahar Tabar, though her real name was Fatemeh Khishvand, who claimed she'd undergone 50 different cosmetic procedures to give herself the gaunt 'zombie' appearance. She was just 16 when she hit international headlines.
First posting the pictures back in 2017, Khishvand said that her actual inspiration wasn't famous actor Jolie, but instead the Corpse Bride from the Tim Burton film of the same name.
It turns out that she hadn't actually gone in for a huge amount of surgery and, surprise, surprise, the pictures of her looking gaunt and ghostly had been digitally altered.
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Her pictures got her in trouble with the Iranian regime she lived under, as in October 2019 she was arrested for 'corruption on earth', 'incitement to corruption by encouraging youth to engage in lunacy,' 'insulting the sacred' and 'acquiring illicit income'. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
By then she'd already deleted her Instagram account, but it didn't stop the regime from coming for her and locking the woman up.
She was released on bail after serving 14 months.
While out of jail, she gave an interview where she spoke about how she no longer wanted to be famous and probably wouldn't be sharing pictures of herself again.
“What you saw on Instagram was the computer effects I used to create the image," she told Iranian news agency Rokna, claiming that she'd 'wanted to be famous since I was a child' and made the pictures to gain a following.
"Cyberspace was an easy way. It was much easier than becoming an actor. I'm sure I will not even put Instagram on my phone anymore, let alone have a page."
In the broadcast on Iran's Channel Two, Khishvand was said to be an example of how 'the madness to become famous on social media has ruined a real life'.
The channel said she was the only child of a divorced couple, and that she 'could have been in university by now' if she had not pursued social media fame.
Khishvand said: "My mother was telling me to stop, but I didn't listen."
In 2020, the Center for Human Rights in Iran said that Khishvand was placed on a ventilator after catching coronavirus while in jail as they appealed for her to be released.
The human rights group said that Khishvand's appearance on TV to denounce her old behaviour had been 'coerced statements' where she was expected to speak against her past actions for public consumption.
Since being bailed out of jail, she's faded out of public view and has not made a resurgence, so what has happened to her since then is unknown. She would now be 25 years old.
It has certainly been a tumultuous time for Iran, which is currently at war with Israel and the US. Missile strikes and unrest are now a regular threat to life for people living in the country.
In addition, thousands of Iranians have been killed while demonstrating against the regime which rules over them and human rights groups have been working to more clearly establish the death toll.
Iran's internet has been cut off and travel to the country restricted, so word getting in or out of there is sparse.
As such, the current fate and whereabouts of Khishvand is unknown.
Topics: Iran, Social Media
Joe Harker