Iman Karram is an American Arab Washingtonian, DC native, and a transplant Californian having graduated from UCLA’s College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and School of Theater, Film and Television. Upon completing her degree, Iman has made strides in her acting career working on films and TV shows on Disney Channel, ABC, CW, FX along with multiple appearances on Netflix originals. Most recently, Iman stars opposite Zoe Saldana in From Scratch on Netflix, this winter will be on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia as well as in the thriller film Daft State opposite Christopher Backus and Paulo Costanzo, which will premiere in 2022. In addition to Iman’s dance training and theatrical credits, she has also gained praise for her fitness background and talents from athletic superstars such as Lebron James.
How does your work help others or how do you give back?
As an Arab American woman, who realizes how fortunate she is to have been born in the United States and have the ability to pursue her dreams, it is critical to me to give back. I am so fortunate to have a family that has always supported my dream of being an entertainer and has taught me to never give up. My dad, who immigrated to the United States as a young adult from the Middle East, always says that my family, generations before me, has sacrificed so I could passionately and fearlessly pursue what I want in life, as long as I never forget where I came from and give back. For years I have actively supported UNICEF and volunteered for the IRC. It is my dream to one day, use my platform as an actor to be an ambassador for them and work closely with them on projects, specifically for refugee children in the Middle East since that is so close to my heart and is in dire need for more attention.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
My biggest piece of advice to anyone starting out, would be to be open to opportunity, make little progress everyday and trust the process.
I received extremely valuable advice from an Academy Award winning actor while at work one day. He said, “I have spent over half my life on the phone, just talking about what I want to do and putting the ideas out there to make it happen, and only 3% of my life, actually doing them”. This was very surprising because this actor has been working since childhood and you would think, has done everything he’s ever wanted to do in terms of the types of projects that he has worked on. He told me to trust the process, keep working on my craft, and to keep doing everything that I am doing right now.
I was able to build a relationship with this actor because I was open to the opportunity to become a personal trainer at the most notably acclaimed gym in Los Angeles. It was an opportunity that the universe presented to me and it fell in line with my want to incorporate the importance of nutrition and fitness into my daily lifestyle while I pursue my dream.
I was open to my personal journey and it unfolded on its own. However, I do know that if I would have sought out this environment, or came across it when I was 18 or 19 years old, this professional opportunity wouldn’t have presented itself in this unique way. I wasn’t ready yet. I definitely grew up a lot between the ages of 18 and 22 and that helped prepare me for this chapter in my life.
