Famous muslims celebrities in US – Islam is one of religion in the world. It come from Saudi Arabia and growing around the world, including US. There are several muslim celebrities, whether singers/musician, rapper, actor/actress, athletes, model and TV personality.
The muslim community in US is growing fast. Among them, there are several famous muslim celebrities from US or other country. Some of these celebrities were raised in Muslim households, while others converted later in life (known as muallaf).
The most famous muslim celebrities probably are Janet Jackson (singer), Muhammad Ali (boxer), Mahershala Ali (actor), Zayn Malik (singer), Ice Cube (rapper) and Bella Hadid (model).
In the past years, many people questioned about celebrities’ religion status. Is DJ Khaled muslim? Is Shaquille O’Neal convert to Islam? Is Gigi Hadid Islam or not? Are there muslim actor in Hollywood?
List of Famous Muslim Celebrities and Artists
Below, we will provide list of celebrities you never know were muslim, including muslim actors/actress, muslim rappers/singers, muslim athletes and other muslim artists.
Famous Muslim Actors
Mahershala Ali
Born : Oakland, California, US
Birthplace : February 16, 1974
Occupation : Actor
The first muslim actors to win an acting Oscar award. His notable movies are Moolight, Hidden Figures, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.
Omar Sharif
Born : 10 April 1932
Birthplace : Alexandria, Egypt
Died : 10 July 2015
Occupation : Actor
Three-time Golden Globe winner. You may remember him from classic movies such as Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965).
Riz Ahmed
Born : December 1, 1982
Birthplace : London, England
Occupation : Actor, rapper
Also known by his stage name, Riz MC. His notable movies are Nightcrawler, Jason Bourne and Venom. He also a rapper and members of Swet Shop Boys.
Irrfan Khan
Born : 7 January 1967
Birthplace : Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India
Occupation : Actor
An Indian actor who break through to Hollywood industry. Known for his role in Slumdog Millionaire, The Life of Pi and Jurassic World.
Faran Tahir
Born : 16 February 1964
Birthplace : Los Angeles, California, US
Occupation : Actor
A Pakistani-American actor who appears in American television and films. If you paying attention, he also appear in Iron Man and Star Trek.
Famous Muslim Actress
Nazanin Boniadi
Born : Tehran, Iran
Birthplace : 22 May 1980
Occupation : Actress, activist
She has brief relationship with Tom Cruise. Former Church of Scientology follower which later convert as a non-practising muslim.
Ellen Burstyn
Born : 7 December 1932
Birthplace : Detroit, Michigan, US
Occupation : Actress
Burstyn was raised Catholic, but now affiliates herself with all religious faiths, especially with Sufism, a mystical form of Islam.
Famous Muslim Singers
Janet Jackson
Born : 16 May 1996
Birthplace : Gary, Indiana, US
Occupation : Singer, actress, philantrophist
The second most popular Jackson family after the King of Pop. Janet Jackson is one of the greatest female singers of all time.
Akon
Born : 16 April 1973
Birthplace : St. Louis, Missiorui, US
Occupation : Singer, rapper
Fun fact : his real name is Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam.
Cat Stevens
Born : 21 July 1948
Birthplace : London, England
Occupation : Singer-songwriter
Cat Stevens convert to Islam in 1977 and adopted the name Yusuf Islam.
Jermaine Jackson
Born : 11 December 1954
Birthplace : Gary, Indiana, US
Occupation : Singer, musician, record producer
Jermaine Jackson was member of The Jackson 5. He was the second lead vocalist of the group, after his famous-brother Michael Jackson.
Zayn Malik
Born : 12 January 1993
Birthplace : Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
Occupation : Singer-songwriter
An ex-member of One Direction, Zayn split from the group and pursue solo career. Easily one of the most famous muslim celebrities in modern era.
A. R. Rahman
Born : 6 January 1967
Birthplace : Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation : Singer, songwriter, composer, music director, record producer
An Indian composer and singer-songwriter, winning Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, BAFTA Awards and Golden Globe.
Anggun
Born : 29 April 1974
Birthplace : Jakarta, Indonesia
Occupation : Singer, songwriter, philantropist
Anggun C. Sasmi is an Indonesian and French-naturalised singer-songwriter. She is the Asian artist with the highest album sales outside Asia.
Famous Muslim Rappers
Ice Cube
Born : 15 June 1969
Birthplace : Los Angeles, California, US
Occupation : Rapper, actor
One of the best rapper of all time and member of legendary hip hop group, N.W.A. He also known as actor, often starring in comedy movie.
DJ Khaled
Born : 26 November 1975
Birthplace : New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Occupation : Rapper, DJ
Famous rapper and DJ, known for his work such as I’m the One, Wild Thoughts, For Free, We Takin’ Over and I Got the Keys.
Busta Rhymes
Born : 20 May 1972
Birthplace : Brooklyn, New York City, US
Occupation : Rapper, singer, actor
A famous rapper and has received 11 Grammy Awards nominations.
Ghostface Killah
Born : 9 May 1970
Birthplace : New York City, New York, US
Occupation : Rapper, actor
His real name is Dennis Coles. Ghostface Killah known as member of Wu-Tang Clan, hip hop group who gain massive popularity in 90s. He is a muallaf (people who convert to Islam).
Lupe Fiasco
Born : 16 February 1982d
Birthplace : Chicago, Illinois, US
Occupation : Rapper
His birth name is Wasalu Muhammad Jaco.
Rakim
Born : 28 January 1968
Birthplace : Wyandach, New York, US
Occupation : Rapper
One of the most influential rapper who once part of hip hop duo Eric B & Rakim.
Nas
Born : 14 September 1973
Birthplace : Brooklyn, New York, US
Occupation : Rapper
One of the most famous American muslim. Often regarded as one of the best hip hop artist of all time.
Other Notable Muslim Rapper
- Mos Def
- Raekwon
- T-Pain
- Scarface
- Big Daddy Kane
- Chali 2na
- Everlast
- SZA
- French Montana
- K’naan
- MC Ren
- Q-Tip
- Freddie Gibbs
- Ali Shaheed Muhammad
- Brother Ali
- Napoleon
Famous Muslim Comedian
Dave Chapelle
Born : 24 August 1973
Birthplace : Washington DC, US
Occupation : Comedian
One of most popular stand-up comedian in US. He converted to Islam in 1998.
Aasif Mandvi
Born : 5 March 1966
Birthplace : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation : Comedian, actor, writer
He is a comedian, who appearing multiple times in movies and TV series.
Ahmed Ahmed
Born : 27 June 1970
Birthplace : Helwan, Egypt
Occupation : Comedian
An Egyptian-born American actor and comedian who appeared in multiple TV shows.
Hasan Minhaj
Born : Davis, California, US
Birthplace : 23 September 1985
Occupation : Comedian
An Indian-American comedian, currently he is a senior correspondent on The Daily Show.
Dean Obeidallah
Born : 17 December 1969
Birthplace : Lodi, New Jersey, US
Occupation : Comedian
His comedy topics including satire, political, culture, Middle East adn Islamophobia.
Famous Muslim Athletes
Muhammad Ali
Born : 17 January 1942
Birthplace : Louisville, Kentucky, US
Died : 3 June 2016
Occupation : Boxer
Probably the greatest athletes of all time. Need no introduction.
Mike Tyson
Born : 30 June 1966
Birthplace : Brooklyn, New York, US
Occupation : Boxer
A professional boxer, reigned as undisputed world heavyweight champion and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win a heavyweight title at 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Born : 16 April 1947
Birthplace : New York City, New York, US
Occupation : Basketball player
He played for Milwaukee Bucks (1969-1975) and Los Angeles Lakers (1975-1989). Considered as one of the best muslim players in NBA.
Hakeem Olajuwon
Born : 21 January 1963
Birthplace : Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
Occupation : Basketball player
Another best muslim basketball players in NBA. Hakeem Olajuwon played for Houston Rockets (1984-2001) and Toronto Raptors (2001-2002).
Famous Muslim Celebrities (Host, TV Personality, Models, Activist, etc)
Bella Hadid
Born : 9 October 1996
Birthplace : Los Angeles, California, US
Occupation : Model
She is Gigi Hadid’s sister. Bella said she is proud to be muslim. While her sister, Gigi Hadid never admitted is she muslim or not.
Iman Abdulmajid
Born : 25 July 1955
Birthplace : Mogadishu, Somalia
Occupation : Model, entrepreneur
Iman is a Somali-American fashion model and entreprenuer. She is the widow of popular English singer, David Bowie.
Dr. Mehmet Oz
Born : 11 June 1960
Birthplace : Cleveland, Ohio, US
Occupation : Talk show host, surgeon
He is known as Dr. Oz and his role as talk show host of the same name. He has Turkey descendant.
Malcolm X
Born : 19 May 1925
Birthplace : Omaha, Nebraska, US
Died : 21 February 1965
Occupation : Activist, minister
A human right activist and one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history. He was assassinated in 1965.
Malala Yousafzai
Born : 12 July 1997
Birthplace : Mingora, Swat, Pakistan
Occupation : Activist
She is known as human right activist especially for education of woman and children. Malala was survive after shot by a Taliban gunman. Following her recovery, she become a prominent activist and even receive Nobel Prize.
Those are list of famous American muslims in entertainment industry. Did we miss someone? Let me know if you know other muslim celebrities that we missed in the comment below.
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