Maryam Basir is a multifaceted creative, blending her talents as an actress, model, and wellness advocate. She has now ventured into the world of beauty, successfully launching her own cosmetic line.
What made me want to pursue a career in acting?
It actually found me. I didn’t even start off pursuing acting. I came to New York after graduating college with big dreams of becoming an entrepreneur and being an independent woman. I did not know anything about acting or the acting industry. And then I was at the bank one day, and this security at the bank was like “Who are you? You need to be on TV!” And I was like, “Who me?” He said, “Yeah you!”. He kind of put the bug in my ear, and from there I went to an agency. I got signed by the agency and the rest was history. I grew a great passion for it and I feel lucky to be an actor and make my living this way.
When did you move to NYC and how was that jump from Michigan to NYC?
It’s challenging to pick up your life and move to a whole new city. I moved to New York City before but had to move back for family reasons. Then I moved back in 2020, right before COVID in January. That was a tremendous challenge because when I moved here, I stayed with my aunt and uncle who lived in New York. Unfortunately, my uncle passed away, but my aunt let me stay with her for over a year. It was a challenge! I’m lucky to have had family here to help me out and make the transition easier because it is always a challenge picking up your life and moving to a whole new city. When I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is a small college town, I knew I was not going to get the same opportunities or meet the same people, or just be inspired the same way I am when I am in New York. So, I just had to do it despite all the challenges.
How did you get your foot in the door as far as your acting career?
The first thing I did was go to an agency. I went to an open call, and I just looked online for model and talent agencies. Before COVID, a lot of agencies had open calls, where you were able to just go and submit a picture online or go in person. They look at you and your pictures, get to know you, and decide if they want to represent you. That’s how I did it, good old-fashioned walking in the door and people seeing something in you. And then, you just audition, audition, audition, and from the auditions you get callbacks. From the call-backs, you get bookings. There was nothing in particular that helped me get my foot in the door other than just grinding out there and doing it. I will say I feel like a lot of the reason is attitude. I used to feel like it was my personality that got me a lot of the things I landed. When you do have those auditions, just walk in with a smile on your face, and good energy. Good energy comes from inside, it comes from working on who you are inside and making sure you have that presence that will make people want to collaborate with you.
Can you describe your most fulfilling role?
Every role I do is so fulfilling. Let me just say that I’m not even saying that to sound cliche. They’re all so different. This one film was so fulfilling because I got to play two characters in one role. Something happened to her. Someone put her under a spell, and her personality was so different until she got out of it. It was so much fun to play someone who’s really career-driven and somewhat innocent. Someone with her head on straight was turned into someone who was completely wild and just crazy. I actually won the best actor in a feature film in the HAPA awards for that film. That was fulfilling because it made me know that I could actually do it. That shows the range right there. To be able to show that range and be able to get recognition. When you get that feedback from the audience when they’re feeling something from it.
As a Muslim, what are some of the challenges you have faced, and how have you overcome them?
I have had challenges as far as people being judgmental. I’ve found even more people who are supportive, people who say I want to do the same thing… Or maybe they live in a country where they don’t support that for women and it’s harder for them, they’ll message me and say you’ve inspired me, etc. I have had both. I’ve seen a lot of people saying they grew up Muslim or used to be Muslim, and I will ask if they still identify with that. Sometimes they just kind of let it go because of the judgment. I am Muslim. I am proud to be a Muslim. It is scary sometimes that when I post something on a Muslim website, people will say, “You’re barely Muslim.” They just have no idea about my heart or anything I do every day, or my own practices. They just judge me by how I look. I just always see religion as something that is so personal between you and God. I don’t accept or receive judgment. I just don’t let it go into me!
Are beauty and cosmetics things that have interested you for a long time?
Absolutely! I grew up wearing a hijab in Michigan. I covered up my entire hair and my body. I’m Muslim. I did not wear makeup at all until after college. When I moved to NY and started modeling, that’s when I even started wearing makeup. Except for maybe lip gloss. When I moved to New York and started getting my makeup done by professional makeup artists, realizing the transformation, and seeing the people around me, and how much you can do with makeup. It’s amazing, and that made me super interested in it. I have always been interested in eyebrows. I would grab my friends and be like “Let me do your eyebrows”. The thing is, I grew up drawing and painting, and painting faces, drawing faces and objects. The artistic part was already there. It was just gearing that toward beauty and makeup was a natural transition as I started working more in the world.
If you could only use one makeup product for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? Do you have any recommendations from your line?
That’s hard! As far as a makeup product, I need something for my eyebrows. My eyebrows are sparse. As long as I don’t have breakouts, I don’t need to have on foundation, and I don’t need to have on lipstick. I would go for the brow-perfect eyebrow pencil kit by Maryam Beauty. You always need a brow pencil, right? The brow pencil kit I have created is a kit with a pencil and it has two refills. So, it can last anywhere from 9 months to a year. I was thinking to myself, what would make the perfect eyebrow kit? There’s a sharpener included in the kit as well. You know when you use an eyebrow pencil one time it gets dull? There’s this sandpaper on it so you can keep it sharp at all times. It’s a new thing. I’ve never seen it before. I pretty much invented it. You can scrape the pencil across the sheet to make it sharper, and then you can throw that sheet away and use the next one. It’s really innovative!
Are there any beauty trends you want to see become more embraced by the new generation?
Skin, skin, and skin! Real textured skin! I think that a lot of things come from internal. A lot of things we cover up, we could fix through eating right and drinking lots of water. Going to a dermatologist maybe. You could have nothing on, but if your skin is glowing, you look so beautiful.
What do you see as far as the future possibilities of your cosmetic line, Maryam Beauty?
I see endless possibilities; I look at Danessa Myricks; I look at Rihanna who has totally dominated the beauty industry but has become a billionaire, and everyone wants to be associated with her products. They’re just so edgy and new. I would love that same thing. When people refer to my business as a small business, I don’t consider it to be that because I see what it can be. I am starting off with eyebrows, and I have two products now, and as the year goes on, there will be several other products that will be coming out specifically eyebrows. Once I am known as the “brow queen” then I will start to come up with other beauty products that are already in my trajectory. I just want to be known as an actor who started a beauty line. Who knows, the possibilities are endless.
Kiara Coleman
