Rami Malek Talks About His Mother” Nelly Malek”

Nelly Malek

We shed light on the family of the star Rami Malek, his mother, Nelly Malek, and his father, Saeed Malek, and the move from Egypt to America.

In an interview with The Guardian, Malek talked about his family and why he risked all for the part of Freddie Mercury.

Malek explains that his dad, Said Malek, was fascinated the opportunities in the west: “My dad was working as a travel agent there, and he would pick up visitors from the west. Through them he saw this other world that existed and he was fascinated by it.”

On the other hand his mom, Nelly Malek wasn’t keen to move to the USA: “She did not want to leave. She had family and friends, right next door, and it was hard to give up that for a city like LA that can sometimes feel estranged from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.” However his mother changed her mind in the end.

“My family are very creative, very intelligent, very lovable. But I’m first-generation American… I don’t think my parents ever thought that being an actor would be the best use of this transatlantic trip of theirs. You know, reshuffling their entire existence, so I could take a shot in the arts?” says Malek.

Something Malek also touched on was how supportive his family was, as he started getting into acting back in Notre Dame high school, the same high school which coincidentally included now actresses Kirsten Dunst, and Rachel Bilson, along with American Idol runner up Katharine McPhee.

Rami Malek parents

Rami has a twin brother, Sami, who now works as a teacher; and a sister, Yasmine, who’s a doctor.

Rami Malek was born in Torrance, California, on May 12, 1981, the son of Egyptian immigrant parents Nelly Abdel-Malek and Said Malek.
He has said he is also “an eighth Greek”. His parents and older sister left Cairo in 1978 after his father, a travel agent and tour guide, became intrigued with Western visitors. They settled in Sherman Oaks, mostly staying in the San Fernando Valley.[10] Malek had a sheltered childhood, rarely venturing into Hollywood, “I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in LA, but somehow, I had no idea that I lived right next to Hollywood.