Aghdashloo was born in Tehran, Iran. Her parents were Effie al-Sadat and Anushiravan Vaziri-Tabar and she has three brothers: Shahram, Shahriar and Shahrokh. At the age of 19, Aghdashloo married painter Aydin Aghdashloo in 1972. During this time, she went to classes on theater even though her parents did not approve. She and Aydin divorced in 1979 when she left Iran for England during the Iranian Revolution.