Most people first hear the name Reza Jarrahy in connection with a Hollywood actress. That is understandable. Celebrity news travels fast, and the tabloids rarely let a high-profile relationship go unnoticed. But to define this man solely by who he was once married to would be a serious disservice — both to him and to the countless children whose faces he has rebuilt over the course of a remarkable career.

Reza Jarrahy is one of the most accomplished craniofacial surgeons working in the United States today. He is a Clinical Professor at UCLA, a published researcher with hundreds of scientific contributions, a global health advocate, and a mentor to the next generation of surgeons. His story is one of quiet, sustained excellence — built over decades of study, sacrifice, and genuine dedication to helping people who have no one else to turn to.

This article is a thorough look at who he really is: where he came from, what he has built, why his work matters, and what the public record tells us about his personal life and estimated net worth.

From New York City to Stanford — The Early Life of Reza Jarrahy

Reza Jarrahy was born in 1971 to Iranian-American parents who had immigrated to the United States in the early 1960s. His father’s name is Parviz, and his mother is Toorandokaht Jarrahy. He grew up in New York City, which shaped him in ways that are easy to trace through his later work — a sharp competitive instinct, a deep appreciation for diversity, and a cosmopolitan openness to the world.

He attended Hunter College High School, one of New York City’s most academically rigorous and selective specialized schools. Getting in is a feat on its own. Graduating as valedictorian is something else entirely. That is exactly what he did.

From there, he earned his Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, studying Biological Sciences and Italian Studies. That second major — Italian Studies — is worth pausing on. It speaks to a mind that is not purely clinical. It suggests someone who thinks in culture, language, and human experience, not just anatomy and procedure. That combination would later prove useful when Jarrahy began crossing borders to serve patients in developing countries.

His family life was touched by loss early on. One of his older brothers, Steven Jarrahy, passed away roughly 30 years ago. That kind of grief has a way of sharpening a person’s sense of purpose. Whether or not it directly influenced his path into medicine is not documented, but the timing of his brother’s death aligns with his years in higher education — a period when many future doctors quietly decide what kind of physician they want to become.

Medical School, Residency, and the Road to UCLA

After completing his undergraduate studies at Stanford, Reza Jarrahy attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook for his medical degree, which he completed in 1996. He then began his clinical training in earnest.

His general surgery residency was completed at two highly competitive programs: New York University and the University of California at San Diego. Both are considered among the most demanding surgical training environments in the country. Completing them gave him a technical foundation that very few surgeons possess.

From there, he transitioned into a plastic surgery residency at UCLA — already considered one of the premier training programs in the nation for plastic and reconstructive surgery. After finishing that residency, he was accepted into the UCLA Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship, a program that sits at the very top of the specialty.

The fellowship was founded and directed by Dr. Henry Kawamoto, widely regarded as one of the founding figures of modern craniofacial surgery. Being selected as a Kawamoto fellow is a distinction that marks a surgeon as truly elite. Reza Jarrahy completed the fellowship in 2006 and 2007, and rather than moving elsewhere, he joined the UCLA faculty immediately after. He has been there ever since.

That decision — to stay at UCLA and continue building the program that shaped him — says a great deal about his character. He could have left for private practice, earned more money, worked fewer hours. Instead, he chose academic medicine, research, and mentorship.

What Dr. Reza Jarrahy Actually Does at UCLA

The titles held by Dr. Reza Jarrahy within the UCLA Health system reflect the scope of his responsibilities. He is a Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery, Neurosurgery, and Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine — a triple appointment that is unusual even among senior faculty. It reflects the fact that craniofacial surgery sits at the intersection of all three disciplines.

His institutional roles include the following:

• Co-Director of the UCLA Craniofacial Clinic — where children and adults with congenital facial differences receive coordinated, multidisciplinary care
• Co-Director of the UCLA Face Transplant Program — one of the most technically demanding programs in reconstructive surgery
• Assistant Chief of Plastic Surgery at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center — a leadership role overseeing clinical operations
• Surgical Director of the Providence St. John’s Health Center Cleft Palate Program — one of the nation’s longest-running multidisciplinary programs for children with cleft lip and palate

Each of these roles involves not just surgery, but administration, mentorship, policy, and collaboration across specialties. Running them simultaneously while maintaining an active research program and continuing to travel overseas for humanitarian work is an extraordinary workload.

He has also previously served as President of the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons and currently sits on the Advisory Council of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, where he serves as a Senior Examiner for the ABPS Oral Board Examination. In other words, he is not just practicing at the highest level — he is also helping to set the standards by which other surgeons are judged.

Inside the Operating Room — The Conditions Reza Jarrahy Treats

Craniofacial surgery is one of the most technically demanding subspecialties in all of medicine. It involves the bones, tissues, and structures of the skull and face — a region where the margin for error is essentially zero, and where the outcomes are visible to the patient every day for the rest of their lives.

The conditions treated by Reza Jarrahy include:

• Cleft lip and palate — among the most common congenital birth differences in the world, requiring multiple staged surgeries from infancy through adolescence
• Craniosynostosis — a condition where the bones of the skull fuse too early, affecting brain development and facial structure
• Microtia — absent or severely underdeveloped external ears, requiring reconstruction using the patient’s own rib cartilage
• Jaw surgery and distraction osteogenesis — procedures that gradually reposition or lengthen the bones of the jaw
• Hypertelorbitism — a condition where the eye sockets are abnormally wide apart, requiring major orbital surgery
• Cancer reconstruction and trauma reconstruction — rebuilding facial structures lost to tumors or injury

These are not minor procedures. Many of them are multi-stage operations, some beginning when a patient is just weeks old and continuing through their teenage years. The surgeon who takes on these cases is making a commitment to a patient’s entire childhood.

Reza Jarrahy and the Regenerative Biology Research Lab

What separates Reza Jarrahy from many surgeons at his level is his parallel commitment to research. He directs the Regenerative Biology and Repair Lab at UCLA — a fully funded research program focused on stem cell biology, tissue engineering, and the translation of laboratory discoveries into practical clinical treatments.

His research has led to the publication of more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, 15 book chapters, and nearly 100 abstracts presented at conferences across the globe. The topics range from bone regeneration using novel biomaterials to wound healing biology to nerve reconstruction for diaphragmatic paralysis.

Some of his most notable recent research involves phrenic nerve reconstruction — a procedure that can restore breathing function in patients with diaphragm paralysis caused by nerve injury. This work, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Matthew Kaufman, has been published in leading surgical journals and represents a meaningful clinical advance for a patient population that previously had few options.

He has received research grants from the Annenberg Foundation, the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons, the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation, the Cleft Palate Foundation, and the UCLA Clinical Translational Science Institute.

This breadth of research funding reflects the quality and diversity of his scientific work. It also reflects the trust that granting institutions place in a researcher who has consistently delivered results.

Global Health Work and Humanitarian Service

One of the most defining aspects of Reza Jarrahy’s career is his commitment to global health. He travels overseas multiple times per year to perform reconstructive surgery on children in developing nations — children who would otherwise have no access to the kind of care he provides.

He has traveled to Guatemala as part of the Mayan Families organization to treat children born with congenital facial deformities. He is a volunteer faculty member at the SOBRAPAR Hospital for Craniofacial Surgery in Campinas, Brazil. He has participated in missions organized through Operation Smile, which earned him recognition as a Global Health Champion — one of the organization’s highest honors for volunteer surgeons.

His global health work goes beyond simply showing up to operate. He has worked to build lasting educational infrastructure in the countries he visits, collaborating with local surgeons and training local physicians so that communities develop their own capacity over time.

At UCLA, he serves as a faculty advisor to the Blum Center for Poverty and Health in Latin America, the UCLA Latin American Institute, and the Center for World Health at the David Geffen School of Medicine. These roles support the development of global health programs for undergraduates, graduate students, and medical students.

He has also been a key contributor to the “At the Crossroads” symposium series — a collaboration between surgeons and anthropologists that examines the intersection of Western medicine and indigenous cultures in Latin America. This is not standard work for a plastic surgeon. It reflects a genuinely thoughtful approach to global health — one that respects the people being served rather than simply delivering procedures.

Awards and Recognition

The career of Reza Jarrahy has been recognized formally on multiple occasions. Among the honors he has received:

• UCLA Health Teaching Humanism Award (2016) — given to faculty who demonstrate exceptional compassion and humanity in their teaching and patient care
• Global Health Champion, Operation Smile International — recognizing sustained volunteer surgical work in developing nations
• Multiple research grants from the Annenberg Foundation, Cleft Palate Foundation, Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation, and others
• Board membership and eventual Presidency of the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons
• Senior Examiner status on the ABPS Oral Board Examination — a recognition of his expertise and standing in the field

The Teaching Humanism Award is particularly meaningful. It is not given for technical skill or research output. It is given to the physician who best demonstrates that medicine is, at its core, a human endeavor. Receiving that award from an institution as large and rigorous as UCLA Health is a significant distinction.

Reza Jarrahy Net Worth — What the Estimates Say

When it comes to financial figures for private individuals, especially those who do not operate public companies or regularly disclose income, any number should be treated as an informed estimate rather than a confirmed fact.

With that context in mind, Reza Jarrahy’s estimated net worth is reported to be approximately $6.5 million. This figure has appeared across multiple biographical sources and is considered a reasonable estimate given his professional background.

The reasoning behind that estimate is straightforward. Plastic surgeons in Los Angeles — one of the most expensive and competitive medical markets in the United States — earn annual salaries that typically range from around $350,000 to over $700,000, depending on experience, specialization, and the mix of academic and private practice work. As a senior clinical professor with nearly two decades at UCLA, a private practice component through The Institute for Advanced Reconstruction, and research grant income on top of his salary, Jarrahy’s annual earnings likely sit toward the higher end of that range.

Over a career spanning more than 20 years at this level, the accumulated wealth estimate of $6.5 million is entirely consistent with what a disciplined professional in his position might accumulate. His wealth is entirely self-made — the product of years of training, consistent excellence, and professional leadership. It has nothing to do with the celebrity relationship that brought him to public attention.

Is Reza Jarrahy Married? His Personal Life and Divorce From Geena Davis

This is one of the most frequently searched questions about him, and it deserves a clear, honest answer.

Reza Jarrahy began dating Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis in 1998. They held a ceremony on September 1, 2001, and for nearly two decades, they lived and raised a family together in Los Angeles. They have three children: a daughter named Alizeh Keshvar Davis Jarrahy, born in April 2002, and fraternal twin sons named Kaiis Steven and Kian William, born in May 2004.

In May 2018, Reza filed for divorce, listing their date of separation as November 15, 2017, and citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce proceedings were complicated by a legal dispute: Davis responded by claiming that the two had never been legally married, alleging that no marriage license had ever been filed. She stated that they intentionally kept their finances separate and that the union was not legally binding.

From Jarrahy’s perspective, they had been married for 16 years. The legal dispute over the nature of their relationship added an unusual dimension to what was already a painful separation.

The divorce was finalized on December 3, 2021 — more than three years after it was filed. As part of the settlement, the couple agreed to change the last names of their twin sons from Davis-Jarrahy to simply Jarrahy, with Davis remaining as a second middle name for both boys.

As of the time of writing, Reza Jarrahy has maintained complete privacy regarding his personal life since the divorce was finalized. He has not publicly discussed any new relationship. His social media presence is modest — focused largely on professional work, global health missions, and occasional nature photography. He appears to be a man who prefers to let his work speak for itself.

The Legacy Reza Jarrahy Is Building

There is a kind of surgeon who operates brilliantly, collects accolades, and then retires into comfort. And then there is the kind who builds something larger than themselves — who trains the next generation, who pushes the science forward, who crosses oceans to help children who have nothing.

Reza Jarrahy is the second kind.

Every fellow he has trained at UCLA carries some of his technique, his standards, and his values into operating rooms around the country. Every child whose cleft palate was repaired by a surgeon he mentored is, in some indirect but real way, a product of his influence. The research coming out of his laboratory will inform surgical practice long after he has retired. The humanitarian missions he leads are building capacity in communities that would otherwise remain underserved for generations.

That is a legacy that no tabloid headline can adequately capture.

Conclusion

The name Reza Jarrahy may have entered public consciousness through celebrity news, but the substance behind that name belongs to an entirely different world — the operating rooms of UCLA, the research laboratories where tomorrow’s surgical techniques are being developed, and the remote villages where children with cleft lips and cranial deformities wait for a surgeon who actually shows up.

He is a product of relentless academic achievement, extraordinary clinical training, and a deep sense of responsibility toward patients who depend on his skills. His career is a reminder that the most meaningful work in medicine is often done far from the spotlight — in the careful reconstruction of a child’s face, in the mentorship of a young resident, or in a clinic somewhere in Central America where the patients have no other options.

Whatever the headlines have said about Reza Jarrahy, the record of his professional life tells a story that stands entirely on its own.

Q1. Who is Reza Jarrahy? Reza Jarrahy is a Clinical Professor of Surgery, Neurosurgery, and Pediatrics at UCLA, recognized as a leading craniofacial surgeon in Southern California and beyond. He is an Iranian-American plastic and reconstructive surgeon with over two decades of experience, best known professionally for his work rebuilding faces of children born with congenital differences.

Q2. What is Dr. Reza Jarrahy’s medical specialty? Dr. Reza Jarrahy is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who specializes in craniofacial surgery, pediatric plastic surgery, and aesthetic surgery of the face and neck. His particular focus is on children born with complex facial birth defects, including cleft lip and palate, craniosynostosis, and ear deformities.

Q3. Where does Reza Jarrahy currently work? He serves as Assistant Chief of Plastic Surgery at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Co-Director of the UCLA Craniofacial Clinic, and Co-Director of the UCLA Face Transplant Program. He also practices at The Institute for Advanced Reconstruction in Red Bank, New Jersey, and serves as Surgical Director of the Providence St. John’s Health Center Cleft Palate Program.

Q4. Where did Reza Jarrahy go to school? He graduated from Hunter College High School as valedictorian and earned his Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, studying Biological Sciences and Italian Studies. He earned his M.D. from SUNY Stony Brook in 1996 and completed his plastic surgery residency and craniofacial surgery fellowship at UCLA.

Q5. What is Reza Jarrahy’s net worth? Reza Jarrahy has an estimated net worth of $6.5 million, accumulated through his career as a plastic surgeon. The average salary of a plastic surgeon in Los Angeles ranges from $349,082 to $708,368 per year. As a senior UCLA professor, program director, and private practice surgeon with over 20 years of experience, his earnings would realistically fall toward the higher end of that range.

Q6. Is Reza Jarrahy married? Reza Jarrahy filed for divorce from Geena Davis in May 2018, after 16 years of marriage, and their divorce was officially finalized on December 3, 2021. As of today, he has not publicly announced any new relationship and maintains a private personal life.

Q7. Who was Reza Jarrahy married to? Reza Jarrahy had a nearly 20-year relationship with Iranian-American craniofacial plastic surgeon — Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis. They started dating in 1998 and it was believed that they married on September 1, 2001. Their union was legally disputed, with Davis claiming no marriage license was ever filed, while Jarrahy maintained the marriage was valid under Islamic law.

Q8. How many children does Reza Jarrahy have? Reza Jarrahy and Geena Davis have three children together — twin sons Kaiis Steven and Kian William, plus daughter Alizeh Keshvar. As part of the divorce agreement, the couple agreed to change the twin sons’ last names from Davis-Jarrahy to simply Jarrahy, leaving Davis as a second middle name for both boys.

Q9. Why did Reza Jarrahy and Geena Davis divorce? The divorce paper filed by the craniofacial surgeon mentioned the reason for the separation as irreconcilable differences, and the legal papers affirmed that the pair had split months before the divorce was filed. Davis maintained they were never legally married, stating they intentionally never filed for a marriage license, while Jarrahy argued the marriage was valid because his father officiated the ceremony as a recognized Islamic officiant.

Q10. What is Reza Jarrahy’s nationality and background? Reza Jarrahy was born to Iranian parents — father Parviz and mother Toorandokaht Jarrahy — who moved from Iran to America in the early 1960s. He is an Iranian-American who was born and raised in New York City, and his family background is rooted in the Muslim faith.

Q11. When was Reza Jarrahy born and how old is he? Reza Jarrahy was born on the 15th of March 1971, making him around 55 years old as of 2026. He was born and raised in New York City, where he attended one of the city’s most competitive public high schools before going on to Stanford University.

Q12. What is the UCLA Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship that Reza Jarrahy completed? The UCLA Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship is one of the most highly regarded programs of its kind in the nation, under the direction of Dr. Henry Kawamoto — the founder of the Fellowship and one of the world’s most eminent craniofacial surgeons. Completing this fellowship is considered a mark of elite standing in the specialty, and many of today’s leading craniofacial surgeons across the United States trained under this program.

Q13. What is the UCLA Face Transplant Program and what role does Reza Jarrahy play? “Our goal in creating this program is to return a sense of normalcy to our patients’ lives,” said Dr. Reza Jarrahy, surgical co-director of the new program. “We hope that restoring facial form and function will provide the opportunity for patients to lead productive lives that are not defined or hampered by facial appearance.” The program, the first of its kind in the western United States, evaluates candidates through comprehensive medical and psychological screening before placing them on a donor waiting list.

Q14. What research does Reza Jarrahy conduct? He and his lab team are currently focused on developing innovative ways to create bone and nerve from stem cells and bioengineered scaffolds for use in craniofacial reconstruction and patients with traumatic nerve injuries. His research has resulted in over 60 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, 15 book chapters, and nearly 100 abstracts presented at national and international plastic surgery conferences.

Q15. What awards and honors has Reza Jarrahy received? He was recently honored as a Global Health Champion for Operation Smile, tasked with helping coordinate all global health efforts in Guatemala, and was a recipient of the prestigious UCLA Health Teaching Humanism Award in 2016. He is also the recipient of the UCLA Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 2022 Faculty Teaching Award, which he considers one of the most important accomplishments of his career.

Q16. Does Reza Jarrahy do humanitarian work abroad? He continues to travel overseas multiple times per year to operate and engage in community service projects in developing nations, serving some of the most vulnerable children on the planet. His missions span multiple countries, including Guatemala under the Mayan Families organization and Brazil through his volunteer faculty role at the SOBRAPAR Hospital for Craniofacial Surgery in Campinas.

Q17. What conditions does Dr. Reza Jarrahy treat? His clinical specialties include all aspects of advanced craniofacial surgery, including repair of cleft lip and palate, syndromic and non-syndromic craniosynostosis, microtia and other ear deformities, jaw surgery, distraction osteogenesis, nasal reshaping, cancer reconstruction, and trauma reconstruction. He also performs aesthetic surgery of the face and neck, drawing on his deep reconstructive expertise to deliver natural-looking cosmetic results.

Q18. Is Reza Jarrahy board-certified? Reza Jarrahy, MD, FACS, FAAP, is a board-certified plastic surgeon who has served on the full-time faculty of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA since 2007. His credentials include fellowship in the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and fellowship in the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP), which reflects his dual clinical focus on adult and pediatric patients.

Q19. What is Reza Jarrahy’s role in plastic surgery education nationally? Dr. Jarrahy sits on the Advisory Council of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, for which he is a Senior Examiner for the ABPS Oral Board Examination. He is also proud to serve as President of the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons. These roles place him among the handful of surgeons who formally set and evaluate the standards by which all plastic surgeons in the United States are credentialed.

Q20. Has Reza Jarrahy trained other surgeons? Dr. Jarrahy has helped to train hundreds of medical students, residents, and fellows, domestically and abroad. Since joining the UCLA full-time plastic surgery faculty in 2007, Dr. Jarrahy has trained all of UCLA’s craniofacial fellows and continues to mentor fellows who come to train at UCLA from around the country and all over the world.

Q21. What insurance does Dr. Reza Jarrahy accept? Dr. Reza Jarrahy accepts Medicare, Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross, and United Healthcare, among other insurance plans. His New Jersey practice at The Plastic Surgery Center also participates in-network with Horizon NJ Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the practice employs insurance specialists to help patients maximize out-of-network coverage as well.

Q22. What is Reza Jarrahy’s research lab at UCLA focused on? Dr. Jarrahy leads the Regenerative Biology and Repair Lab at UCLA, focusing on stem cell research and tissue engineering. The lab’s primary mission is developing ways to grow bone, nerve, and soft tissue from biological materials and engineered scaffolds — with the goal of translating these discoveries directly into better surgical outcomes for patients with craniofacial defects or nerve injuries.

Q23. What research grants has Reza Jarrahy received? Jarrahy has received numerous awards, including research grants from the Annenberg Foundation, American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons, Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation, Komedyplast, Cleft Palate Foundation, and the UCLA Clinical Translational Science Institute. These grants have funded studies in bone regeneration, tissue engineering, stem cell therapy, and global health delivery — a diverse portfolio that speaks to the breadth of his scientific interests.

Q24. What is Reza Jarrahy’s contribution to global health at UCLA? He also serves as a faculty advisor to the UCLA Blum Center for Poverty and Health in Latin America, UCLA Latin American Institute, and UCLA School of Medicine Center for World Health, where he continues to support the development of global health programs for undergraduates, graduate students, and medical students. His collaboration with anthropologists on the “At the Crossroads” symposium series has been recognized for examining how culture and Western medicine intersect — particularly in indigenous communities across Latin America.