Prince Reza Pahlavi was born on October 31, 1960 (9 Aban 1339) in a maternity hospital on Molavi Street in Tehran. This location was later named "Farah Pahlavi Maternity Hospital". He is the son of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi. Prince Reza is the younger brother and stepbrother of Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi. The King and Queen had three more children after Prince Reza - Princess Farahnaz, Prince Ali-Reza, and Princess Leila. Prince Reza Pahlavi was officially proclaimed Crown Prince of Iran on October 26, 1967, during the coronation ceremony of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

From the age of six, Prince Reza Pahlavi lived in his own palace in Tehran. His daily program combined language learning, studying history, court customs and etiquette, and sports. Continuing his father's style of education and training, he began learning to fly from early adolescence at age 13, and in 1977, he successfully completed his first solo flight at Dezful Air Base with an F-5 fighter jet, becoming Iran's youngest pilot.

In the summer of 1978, Prince Reza Pahlavi went to America to complete his flight training and attended the advanced jet fighter pilot course at Reese Air Force Base in Texas. It was during this training period that unrest intensified in Iran. The monarchy in Iran collapsed and he was unable to return to Iran. Prince Reza Pahlavi completed his flight training in Texas and then began his university education studying political science at the University of Southern California (USC), receiving his bachelor's degree in political science from this university in 1985. In addition to Persian, he is fluent in English and French.

Prince Reza Pahlavi married Yasmine Etemad-Amini on June 12, 1986. Yasmine is a graduate of law from George Washington University and has dedicated many years to fighting for children's rights across the globe. Prince Reza Pahlavi and Yasmine Etemad-Amini have three children: Noor Pahlavi (born April 1992), Iman Pahlavi (born September 1993) and Farah Pahlavi (born January 28, 2004).

Despite exile, Prince Reza Pahlavi has devoted all his efforts over the past four decades to the freedom and salvation of Iran. He began his efforts from the very first days after his father's death in Cairo. Throughout all these years, Prince Reza Pahlavi has emphasized that he is working for the freedom of the Iranian nation, not to reclaim his crown and throne. His efforts are focused on creating space for the Iranian nation to choose their preferred political system based on democratic principles. The cultivation of national solidarity and unity needed to fight and overthrow the Islamic Republic, has been his primary goal over the past four decades. During this time, Prince Reza Pahlavi has continued his fight despite severe political turbulence and personal hardship. He witnessed the execution and assassination of the country's patriotic military personnel and officials, including the killing of his cousin, Captain Shahryar Shafiq. He lived through the years of the Iraq-Iran War and the suppression and massacre of the Iranian people. He also faced his father's severe illness and death in exile, along with the bitter deaths of his younger brother and sister, Prince Ali-Reza and Princess Leila. All of these tragedies left eternal sorrow in his heart but made him even more determined to continue on the path of liberating his homeland.