As the actor himself reflected at the 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Ali was born in Oakland, CA, in 1974. His mother, Willicia, an ordained minister, named him Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore, after ...

Ali graduated from NYU in 2000 and quickly put his master’s degree to work, expanding his recognition as an actor. He found his start on TV shows like “Crossing Jordan,” where he played Dr ...