Photo: Gordon Correll / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Mahershala Ali is my favorite kind of actor: one who wins scenes through stillness. A former college basketball player from Oakland, he came up through stage and television before two supporting-actor Oscars in three years confirmed what attentive viewers already knew. What fascinates me is his economy; he can shift a film's emotional center with a glance or a measured pause, which is why The New York Times naming him among the century's greatest actors felt overdue rather than generous. He elevates everything he appears in, and I suspect his best leading work is still ahead of him. Few performers carry that much dignity so effortlessly on screen.
Overview
Mahershala Ali ( mə-HUR-shə-lə; born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore on February 16, 1974) is an American actor. He has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $3.3 billion worldwide. In 2020, The New York Times ranked him among the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Mahershala Ali
- Name (Japanese)
- マハーシャラルハズバズ・アリ
- Reading
- まはーしゃらるはずばず・あり
- Born
- February 16, 1974 (age 52)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Tiger
- Origin
- Oakland, California, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television actor / film actor / stage actor / actor / basketball player
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Mount Eden High School
- University
- Saint Mary's College of California
Awards & achievements
- 2017 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- 2019 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- Golden Globe Awards
- 2019 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Television actor — see all → · Film actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.