People in Focus
Ramy Youssef
Queens-born, Rutherford-raised, three semesters at Rutgers-Newark, one Golden Globe. And this fall the Jersey kid is making his first movie right here in New York.
The comedian who put a Muslim family from Rutherford on TV is directing his first feature for A24, with Sharon Stone opposite him and New York as the set.
From the weekly edition, Mon Oct 26 – Sun Nov 1, 2026 · Weekly edition
Some people leave Jersey and never mention it again. Ramy Youssef built a whole career on it. His show is set in Rutherford, and when Rutgers-Newark finally handed him a degree, he joked about his parents' tuition from the stage at the Prudential Center. If you've ever defended your career choices at a family dinner, this one's for you.
The origin story. Youssef was born in Queens in 1991 to Egyptian parents and grew up in Rutherford, NJ, according to Wikipedia. As he told NPR's Fresh Air, his parents actually met in New York, which he called "kind of my favorite thing." In his HBO special Feelings, he says his dad started as a busboy and "in 10 years, he became the manager of a hotel," which gave us the most immigrant-dad line ever: "He learned all these jobs just so he'd never have to pay another man."
The detour. At Rutgers-Newark he majored in political science and planned to be a lawyer. "I had to be practical," he said. But he was also doing some of his first stand-up sets at the Black Box Theater on Warren Street. Then, Rutgers reports, Bell's palsy paralyzed the left side of his face for seven months. He went back to acting class anyway, and after three semesters he left for the William Esper Studio.
Then the receipts. His Hulu series Ramy (2019–2022), about a first-generation Egyptian-American Muslim in Rutherford, won him a Golden Globe and a Peabody. He co-created Netflix's Mo, appeared in Poor Things, got an Emmy nomination for directing "Honeydew" on The Bear, and hosted SNL in 2024.
The graduation glow-up. In May 2025, Rutgers-Newark gave him an honorary doctorate and made him its commencement speaker. "Thirteen years ago I took a 'break' from Rutgers to pursue acting. The break is now over," he said when it was announced. On the day, he told the crowd, "My parents are here, finally getting to see the thing that they paid for. The money was not wasted." Every Muslim parent in Jersey felt that one.
Why he matters this week. Ramy is directing his first feature, Martha & Muhammad, for A24. According to World of Reel, he wrote it, Josh Safdie came on as co-writer and producer, and Ramy stars opposite Sharon Stone in a story about a widowed New York socialite and a young Muslim man. Production was set to start in New York this October, so if you pass a film crew this week, it might be his.
The faith part, kept light. NPR's Fresh Air introduced him as a comic who often surprises people when he says he believes in God, "or as he puts it, God God, not yoga." He calls his practice "Allah carte." He told Esquire Middle East, "Being connecting to the faith as an adult is way cooler than getting it as a kid." His advice to his younger self: "just tell myself to drink more water." We'll take it.
Where to start. Ramy season 1 on Hulu for the Rutherford of it all, then Feelings.
Links: Rutgers-Newark commencement story · World of Reel on Martha & Muhammad
Sources: Rutgers University–Newark news (Apr 22 and May 22, 2025: Rutgers years, Bell's palsy, Black Box Theater, honorary degree, his quotes, career list); NPR Fresh Air (rebroadcast Sept 3, 2020: faith, "Allah carte," parents, the Feelings excerpt about his dad); Esquire Middle East (Apr 2021: faith and water quotes); World of Reel (Aug 13 and Sept 10, 2026: Martha & Muhammad); Wikipedia, "Ramy Youssef" (birth, Esper, awards, SNL). We didn't interview him. Portrait: PhilipRomanoPhoto via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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