Amatus Sami-Karim is an American musician, composer, actress, and performative conceptual artist who is best known as the wife of Mahershala Ali, an Academy Award-winning actor. Amatus is predominantly concerned with identity, history, and popular culture through the mediums of music, film, and theater. Her debut EP, ‘Broken Compass’, was released in March 2014 and featured in a number of blogs on trend-setting music news websites, such as ‘Pigeons and Planes’, ‘Afro Punk’, ‘Obscure Sound’, ‘Hollywood Playlist’, ‘Okayplayer’, and ‘The Source’. She has contributed music to documentary films such as ‘New Muslim Cool’ in 2009 and ‘Daisy and Max’ in 2015. She has collaborated with musicians such as Meshell Ndegeocello, Roy Hargrove, and Jneiro Jarel, and she has composed music for PBS, the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, 651 Arts, POV, the Ford Foundation, and Rooftop Films. Most recently, she was nominated for the 2018 ‘Drama Desk Awards in the category ‘Outstanding Music in a Play’ for the Atlantic Theater Company’s production of ‘The Homecoming Queen’ but lost to Imogen Heap. Amatus, who has appeared in short films such as ‘Girl’s Time’ and ‘Jasmine,’ is presently working on several short films.
Achieve Stardom About Karim
Amatus Sami-Karim began her career creating ‘edgy’ music by combining genres such as hip-hop, electronic, jazz, and soul. Sami-Karim believes that American music “has not been able to penetrate people’s experience as much as it’s supposed to.” During her early career, the soundtrack of the 2009 documentary ‘New Muslim Cool’ featured her music. In 2012, she was requested to compose the score for Dominique Morrisseau’s stage play “Sunset Baby,” which went on to win The Obie Awards (Off-Broadway Theater Awards) in 2014 for its Labyrinth Theatre Company production.
In March 2014, she released her debut EP, ‘Broken Compass,’ which consists of five songs about her personal experiences residing in Chicago and New York. She was then commissioned to compose the music for the Al-Jazeera America documentary ‘Daisy and Max’, which was broadcast in December 2015. She has already established herself in the entertainment industry as an exceptional musician. Nonetheless, she first garnered widespread public attention in 2017 when she accompanied her husband to numerous red-carpet award ceremonies. Four days before he won an Oscar for his supporting role in “Moonlight,” she gave birth to a daughter while she was pregnant.
Personal Facts About Karim
Amidus Sami-Karim was born into an Islamic family on Chicago’s South Side. Her father was an Imam as well as a jazz musician. She was raised in her father’s Chicago mosque, which was across the street from the Cabrini Green Projects, a public housing complex. She has been interested in various genres of art since she was a child and attended New York’s Tisch School of the Arts. Following her graduation, she was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England, where she was required to pursue acting for one year.
During the first four years of her existence, she lost several close family members and friends to separate gun violence incidents, including her brother, cousin, and roommate. She displayed resiliency and channeled her anguish into her work, giving voice to the complex experiences she had endured and creating a ‘quilt’ from that.
Connection with Mahershala Ali
Amatus Sami-Karim first encountered actor Mahershala Ali, then known by his birth name Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore, while they were both attending New York City’s Tisch School of the Arts. They were introduced by a mutual acquaintance, Aliya Latif, and subsequently became friends before beginning a relationship. The couple has been together for many years, but they only decided to get married in 2013. On February 24, 2017, she gave birth to their only daughter, Bari Najma Ali.
In January 2017, following his ‘Screen Actors Guild’ acceptance speech advocating for love and acceptance, ‘People magazine reported that Mahershala Ali had converted to Islam after visiting a mosque with Amatus and her mother nearly two decades earlier. According to him, even weeks after visiting the mosque, the supplication continued to resonate within his body, compelling him to convert. He altered his surname and joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community after being born to a Christian minister. He does not hesitate to express his affection for Amatus and frequently acknowledges her strength and independence. He also acknowledges her spiritual stability.
Estimated Net Worth
She has accumulated a net worth of $1.5 million to date. Mahershala, her Oscar-winning spouse, is also a prominent Hollywood actor.