Abdul-Mateen was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a Muslim father, Yahya Abdul-Mateen I, and a Christian mother, Mary. He spent his childhood in the Magnolia Projects of New Orleans, and then moved to Oakland, California, where he attended McClymonds High School. In 2004, he went to college where he became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and competed as a hurdler for the California Golden Bears. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in architecture and then worked as a city planner in San Francisco. He had always wanted to be an actor, later receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama and working as a stage actor.
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