Amatus Sami-Karim Knew Her Future Husband for 16 Years before Marriage: Meet Mahershala Ali's Wife

Mahershala Ali's wife, Amatus Sami-Karim, found her way back into her future husband's life after they lost touch for years. The artist had experienced a personal loss when Ali reached out, and since then, she has created award-winning art and found her "rock" in Ali.

Ali and Sami-Karim were just two university kids when they met for the first time, not knowing that they would one day fall in love and get married. And while Ali is a well-known actor, Sami-Karim is an artist herself.

The couple lost touch for years after meeting and reunited after the death of Sami-Karim's brother, which also became the muse for her art and the focus of her activism.

Who Is Mahershala Ali's Wife, Amatus Sami-Karim

Sami-Karim is a performative, conceptual artist, with music, film, and theatre as her mediums of choice. She uses her art to explore themes of identity and popular culture. Her artistry led to her composing for films and the play "Sunset Baby."

She created an EP and was behind the sound design and music for the play "The Homecoming Queen." Like her famous husband, Sami-Karim has received recognition for her work in her respective field and received award nominations.

She is also an avid activist and feminist. With over ten thousand followers on Instagram, Sami-Karim uses her platform to advocate for women and human rights as well as gun control, as her brother was a victim of gun violence. While speaking about his wife, Ali said:

"She's very much an individual. She's extraordinarily intelligent, about the right things, spiritually grounded – a beautiful person."

She grew up in the south side of Chicago, but after her parents parted ways, Sami-Karim relocated with her mother, a social worker. Sami-Karim enrolled at the Tisch School of the Arts and spent a year acting at RADA. Ali and Sami-Karim met while they were both enrolled at New York University.

They Knew Each Other for 16 Years before Getting Married

At NYU, Ali had a friend in the same program as Sami-Karim, and Ali had seen her for the first time while she was with a group of friends. While recalling the first time they met, Ali said it was '97, and slam poetry was in trend. So, he wrote her a poem.

Before becoming an A-list actor with multiple awards, Ali was a shy university student and confessed to having a hard time with the ladies. As a result, he wrote Sami-Karim a poem but kept it in his backpack for a month.

After plucking up the courage to give it to her, Ali said Sami-Karim barely responded. She had moved to London, but after a total of three people in her life died, Ali reached out. In 2013, they tied the knot. Sami-Karim said:

"I never really thought I would get married, to be honest. It was just something that clicked, and yeah, now I know why people get married."

As Ali's fame saw a meteoric rise, the actor revealed that Sami-Karim had been by his side the entire time. She took to social media to share his Golden Globe win in 2019 and celebrated him on special occasions.

Ali reciprocated the support in their relationship as Sami-Karim said he was her "rock." As supportive as she was, Ali joked that Sami-Karim was also not afraid to check him when he was "feeling" himself too much.

Their personalities complimented each other. Ali said he was more conservative, while Sami-Karim encouraged him to try new things, including upgrading his fashion game.

Amatus Gave Birth to Their Daughter Four Days before Ali Won an Oscar

In 2017, Ali and his wife welcomed their daughter, Bari Najma Ali. Sami-Karim gave birth just four days before Mahershala Ali won an Oscar, and the actor shared the news during his acceptance speech.

While he keeps the pictures on his Instagram account to a minimum, both Amatus and Bari have appeared on Mahershala's page. But to keep her life private to a degree, the "Green Book" actor does not show his daughter's face.