Funny Guy Aziz Ansari has Roots in Bennettsville
Before his days on the hit NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” Aziz Ansari may have roamed around the many parks and recreational areas here in Bennettsville as a kid.
Born in Columbia in February 1983 to south Indian immigrants, Ansari grew up in Bennettsville, where he attended the private Marlboro Academy and the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics in Hartsville.
While Ansari spread his wings outside of the Carolinas for a career in acting, as a comedian, writer, director and producer, his parents still call South Carolina home. His father, Shoukath, is a gastroenterologist affiliated with FirstHealth of the Carolinas and his mother, Fatima is an obstetrician and gynecologist, as well as manages Shoukath’s offices spread across the Carolinas.
Here is a timeline of tidbits from Ansari’s career highlight reel (some you may or may not know) since his days growing up in Bennettsville:
- 2004: He graduates from the New York University Stern School of Business with a bachelor’s business degree in marketing. While in school, he also starts standup, performing regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and in weekly shows, like “Invite Them Up.”
- 2005: Ansari appears in Rolling Stone’s annual “Hot List” as “Hot Standup.” That summer, he begins collaborating with two other comedians to make short films.
- 2006: He wins the Jury Award for “Best Standup” at HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen.
- 2007: Ansari served as co-creator, writer, executive producer and various acting roles in “Human Giant,” a sketch series that ran on MTV for two seasons.
- 2009-2015: He stars in his most prominent TV role, Tom Haverford, in “Parks and Recreation.”
- 2010: He releases his first comedy special, “Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening,” on Comedy Central Records.
- 2015: He releases his first book, “Modern Romance: An Investigation.”
- 2015-Present: Ansari co-creates (with “Parks & Rec” writer Alan Yang), writes, directs, and stars in the first two seasons of the Netflix hit series, “Master of None” as Dev Shah. Both of his parents also appeared in the first two seasons. So far for the series, he has walked away with writing and acting awards, including two Emmys and a Golden Globe – the first time an Indian American received the award for acting on TV. The series itself earned four Emmy nominations. Yang and Ansari also received a Peabody Award in 2016 for the series.
- 2016: Ansari lands a place on the Time 100 list of most influential people.
- January 2017: Ansari hosts an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” becoming the first person of Indian origin to fulfill this role.
- 2019: His fifth comedy special, “Aziz Ansari: Right Now” is released, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.
- 2021: “Master of None Presents: Moments in Love” is released on Netflix; Ansari wrote and directed.
- He continues to perform standup on tour and on Netflix.
Article sponsored by Tonya H Michael & Courtlyn M Polson of Team Property Empire / eXp Realty. Visit online at www.propertyempire.com
