Early life

Somy Ali was born in Karachi, Pakistan. Her mother Tehmina is Iraqi, and her father Madan is Pakistani. She has two sisters, Hina and Huma and a younger brother Mohammed. After studying at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Karachi till age 12, she, her mother and brother moved to Florida. Inspired by Bollywood movies, Ali convinced her mother to allow her to move to Mumbai, India at 16. In Mumbai, Ali was involved in modelling projects and also performed in Hindi movies. She appeared in 9 movies between 1992 to 1999, but was unable to leave any impact as an actor. While in Mumbai, she was in a relationship with Bollywood's leading actor Salman Khan. In December 1999, she returned to Florida to continue her studies.

She attended Nova Southeastern University in Florida, majoring in Psychology, and obtained her undergraduate degree in two years. During this time that she became very interested in journalism and decided to attend the University of Miami to obtain a master's degree in broadcast journalism.

Career

While at the University of Miami, Ali developed an interest in documentary films. Subsequently, in February 2003, she left the university to attend the New York Film Academy. She graduated with a degree in film making, direction, screenwriting and editing. Her early projects included short films on abortion, domestic violence, and teenage suicide.

Ali became involved with women's rights issues in South Asia. She works toward publicizing bringing the plight of rape and domestic violence victims. Ali has written articles about rape victims Shazia Khalid, Sonia Naz and Mukhtaran Mai. "My goal is to help all of these women and make sure that every girl/woman in my country and universally is able to obtain an education and has her basic human rights," says Ali. Revenue from her clothing line, So-Me Designs is donated to her non-profit organisation No More Tears, which was founded in 2006.

In 2011, Ali was honoured with the American Heritage Award from the American Immigration Council for her work with No More Tears. As of April 2012, No More Tears has rescued 182 abuse victims.

Filmography

• Bulund (1993)
• Anth (1993) as Priya
• Krishan Avtaar (1993)
• Yaar Gaddar (1994) as Jai's girlfriend
• Teesra Kaun? (1994) as Priyanka
• Aao Pyaar Karen (1994) as Sonu S. Rai
• Andolan (1995) as Anita
• Mafia (1996) as Kiran Pawar
• Agnichakra (1997) as Guest Appearance in song

Articles

Article	Description	Link
"Embrace Diversity"	Nova Knight News, GSSA Issue, 20 November 2002
"Our National Parks"	Remote Park is Home to Tiny Group of Residents
"Forgotten Victims"	n/a
"Pakistani Woman Forced to Live in Shame"	n/a
"Veiled Pain"	n/a
"ANAA Rally for the Dignity and Safety of Pakistani Women"	n/a
"The Sonia Naz Story"	n/a

[ Source: Wikipedia ]