PIONEER
Sami’s passion for football began when she was 10 years old playing Jr. All-American Football. Her talent and determination won her a spot on the Redlands High School Football team and $20 from her uncle who bet her that she couldn’t make it through hell week. She became California’s first female to quarterback a men’s varsity Division I football team. A trailblazer in women’s football, Sami went on to lead the Chicago Force as quarterback, take Team USA to three world championships and earn four MVP honors.
PERFORMER
Growing up in Southern California, Sami’s love of watching her parents perform made her as passionate to take the stage as she was to take the field. In addition to earning five Grammy pre-nominations, Sami was awarded Chicago Music Awards Rock Entertainer of the Year for her electrifying live performances and Action ICON’s Dare 2 Be Different Award. She also performed an acoustic version of her original song, “Key of Us” on Showtime’s Work in Progress. Combining autobiographical lyrics, live-game audio, driving beats and anthemic melodies, Sami co-wrote the soundtrack to the feature documentary film, Open Field with Eren Cannata (Demi Lovato, Andra Day) and KOIL PreAmple (Timbaland). The single “Manifest” and accompanying music video was shot at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio and released on 2.2.22.
STORYTELLER
In October 2020, the award-winning feature length documentary film, Open Field, had its world premiere at the Austin Film Festival — a behind-the-scenes story of Sami’s football career and the obstacles facing female football players. The film has garnered Best Documentary and Audience Awards at festivals across the U.S. Sami is a motivational speaker featured in film festival panels (SXSW, FLIC), and keynotes/performances (CUSP Conference, Equality Lounge at AdWeek), which she fondly calls Rock Talks. Sami earned a BFA in Acting from the Theater Conservatory at Chicago College of Performing Arts.