On Sunday night, Mahershala Ali won Best Supporting Actor at the 89th annual Academy Awards for his role in Moonlight.
With the honor, Ali became the first Muslim actor to ever bring home an Oscar, but he also became another first. Before Ali was an established actor, he attended Saint Mary’s College in California on a basketball scholarship. Ali is now the first-ever Division I basketball player to become an Oscar Award winning actor.
Ali played at Saint Mary’s for four years.
During his playing career, Ali was known by the name Mahershala Gilmore. This was before he converted to Islam.
In his senior season, Ali averaged seven points per game.
Now, he’s a world renowned actor who has one of the top awards in Hollywood under his belt.
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