Yasmine Al-Bustami Describes What Makes ‘NCIS: Hawai‘i’ “Super Fulfilling”
Published Sept. 24 2022, 3:43 p.m. ET
For an actor on a show as widely watched as NCIS: Hawai‘i, Yasmine Al-Bustami has done a good job keeping her private life out of the public eye — no one seems to know if she’s married or even in a relationship. But on her personal website and in various interviews, Yasmine has shared many other details about her life off-camera.
For example, Yasmine was born in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and was raised stateside, in Duncanville, Texas, a bio on her website reveals. “She is of Jordanian-Palestinian and Filipina heritage, and is fueled by hummus, pansit, brisket, and queso,” the bio adds. “She also says y’all a lot.”
Other fun facts? She can burp on cue, she loves Irish music and country line-dancing, she’s a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, and she identifies with Michael Scott.
Here’s more about her life story so far…
Yasmine moved to the U.S. at age 3 and caught the acting bug in college.
As she explained to The National last month, Yasmine came to the United States from Abu Dhabi with her family when she was 3 years old. And she got into acting during her university years.
Soon came big parts in the TV shows The Originals, I Ship It, and The Chosen. She also starred in John Legend’s 2017 music video for the song “Surefure.”
And in April 2021, Yasmine landed the part of Lucy Tara, a junior member of the NCIS team in Hawai‘i.
“Everybody has their own journey and ways of getting where they want to go,” she observed. “For me, it has always been fun, and I never felt that this was too grueling, despite the hard days. I think it comes down to me understanding that what I do fulfills me in a certain way that other things in life can’t. This is not to say that it was not tough at many times during my career; it’s just that I don’t want to give this up.”
Her ‘NCIS: Hawai‘i’ role has people feeling represented, as she observed.
Yasmine told Arab News last month about her NCIS role’s impact: “I’m always taken aback whenever I find out that I’ve reached people,” she said. “I didn’t really think about the capacity for something like this show to reach people all over the world. … When I finally sit down, take some time to read [fan messages] and take them in, it can be overwhelming. I see that people are taking notice, feel represented, and feel seen, and suddenly I know for sure that I can contribute to that in some way.”
The actress also praised the rest of the cast of NCIS: Hawai‘i — which includes Vanessa Lachey and Tori Anderson — and the CBS show’s behind-the-scenes talent.
“It makes such a big difference when you really enjoy the people,” she said. “Thankfully, the people that I’m surrounded with every day are amazing. They make it super fulfilling in so many more ways than just work.”
Catch Yasmine in NCIS: Hawai‘i, Monday nights at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
