Shiva Rose was born in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. An American of Irish and Iranian decent, she was raised in Iran until the age of ten when she and her family were forced to escape to Paris, then to Los Angeles.She began her stage career at 15 at several theaters in Santa Monica. She attended UCLA and then married actor Dylan McDermott. While devoting her life as a mother to raise a daughter, she continued to act on stage, television and film.She gained recognition for her starring role in the critically-acclaimed David and Layla which Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter described as "'A bold, politically relevant film against impossible odds." The film got theatrical distribution, followed by Time Warner's VOD and Digital Distribution. It continues to be distributed abroad.David & Layla garnered Shiva Rose the "Best Breakthrough Actress" Award.She continues her career in the theater as an actress and writer. She wrote Fragile Life based on the life of the photographer Tina Modotti.She is active with several charitable organizations including being a spokesperson for Amnesty International Refugee Program.Shiva Rose and Dylan McDermott divorced in 2009. She continues to write for various magazines (Vogue, Lucky) and online sites (eco-stilletto, Huffington Post). She maintains a life style website devoted to her organic holistic lifestyle called The Local Rose.Currently (2011), she is the Executive Producer of a feature film 'Relative Insanity', starring Maggie Grace and Helen Hunt.Shiva Rose lives with her two daughters in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California.