Dowlatshahi was born in 1905.[1] She was a member of the Qajar dynasty.[1][2] Her father was Gholam Ali Mirza "Mojalal Dowleh" Dowlatshahi (1878–1934).[1] Her mother was Mobtahedj-od-Dowleh, daughter of Ebtehadj Saltaneh and Abou Nasr Mirza Hessam Saltaneh II.[1] Her paternal grandfather was Hessam-Saltaneh I. She had two brothers and one sister, Ashraf Saltaneh II.[1]Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi, member of the Majlis and Iranian ambassador, was her cousin.[3]
Dowlatshahi and Reza Shah wed in 1923.[3][4] She was his fourth, last and favourite wife.[5][6] Reza Shah was the minister of war when they married.[3] From this marriage five children were born: Abdul Reza, Ahmad Reza, Mahmoud Reza, Fatemeh and Hamid Reza Pahlavi.[1] Her husband became Shah of Iran in 1925. However, it was her husband's second wife Tadj ol-Molouk who was given a public role as queen.[7] This situation did not make Tadj ol-Molouk happy due to her jealousy of Dowlatshahi which she disclosed in her memoirs.[7]
Dowlatshahi and Reza Shah lived in the Marble Palace in Tehran with their children.[5] She accompanied her husband to Mauritius when he was exiled there in September 1941, but she returned to Iran after a few months.[8]
Dowlatshahi stayed in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.[8] She visited the Museum of Reza Shah Pahlavi in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1980.[9] She died on 25 July 1995.[10] She was buried in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, Tehran.[11]
