Sonji Roi's short, intense chapter in Muhammad Ali's life
My toughest fight was with my first wife.
This quote, attributed to Muhammad Ali by the Guardian, was made in 1967, a year after his highly publicised divorce from his ex-wife, Sonji Roi. The boxing legend and his former first wife fell in love but split after two years over conflicting beliefs about religion, freedom, and control.
Source: Twitter
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Sonji Roi met and married Muhammad Ali in 1964, within 41 days.
- The marriage between Sonji and Muhammad Ali ended in 1966 due to her refusal to adopt the Islamic faith and beliefs.
- Beyond her association with Ali, Roi was a model and a jazz vocalist known for her songs, which include Until I See My Baby's Face, Deeper In My Heart, and Here I Am & Here I'll Stay.
- After their divorce, Sonji Roi remarried Reynaldo Preston Glover.
Profile summary
Full name | Sonji Roi Glover (Clay) |
Common name | Sonji Roi |
Gender | Female |
Date of birth | 23 November 1945 |
Place of birth | United States |
Date of death | 11 October 2005 |
Age (at the time of death) | 59 years |
Place of death | Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States |
Cause of death | Heart attack |
Nationality | American |
Ethnicity | Black |
Religion | Catholic |
Height in centimetres | 161 |
Height in feet | 5'3" |
Hair colour | Black |
Eye colour | Brown |
Mother | Undisclosed |
Father | Undisclosed |
Marital status (at the time of death) | Married |
Spouse (at the time of death) | Reynaldo Preston Glover |
Former spouse | Muhammad Ali (1964–1966) |
Children | 2 |
Profession | Jazz vocalist, model, singer |
A look at Sonji Roi's life from model to cultural figure
Sonji Roi was born on 23 November 1945 in the United States. According to Muhammad Ali's autobiography, Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig, she was orphaned at a young age. Much is not known about her early life, childhood, upbringing, or educational background.
Her father died when she was two years old, and her mother died when she was eight years old. The loss of her parents pushed her to work in nightclubs from an early age. At the time she met the Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the 20th Century, she was working as a cocktail waitress.
Source: Original
Sonji Roi's career in the arts as a model and Jazz vocalist
At the time she met her would-be husband, Sonji worked as a model and cocktail waitress in nightclubs. She made her debut as a singer in February 1966 at Frankie's Band Box in Pittsburgh, USA.
She was managed by George Treadwell, whose clients included Sammy Davis Jr., Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan. As an aspiring singer, she had recorded a couple of singles, including I Can't Wait (Until I See My Baby's Face), What Now My Love, Deeper In My Heart, and the ballad Here I Am & Here I'll Stay.
The jazz singer worked with musical legends such as Ray Charles' musical director, Willis of the Eddie Willis Trio.
Source: Facebook
The 41–day proposal: Sonji Roi and the Champ's whirlwind romance
Sonji Roi and Muhammed Ali had a lightning romance that began after an introduction in 1964. In the same year, the couple got married, and two years later, they annulled their marriage. Have a look at their relationship timeline and the marriage that challenged Muhammad Ali's beliefs.
July 1964: Sonji Roi and Muhammad Ali meet
Sonji Roi first met Ali through an introduction by his longtime manager Jabir Herbert Muhammad on 3 July 1964. At the time, the world heavyweight champion was still going by his birth name, Cassius Marcellus Clay.
It is believed that at the time Ali met Sonji, she was working as a cocktail waitress and was modelling. However, an excerpt from Thomas Hauser's Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times reveals that she worked as an assistant or sales solicitor for Muhammad Speaks at the time.
Source: Twitter
I met Herbert because Herbert liked to take pictures of people. Then he gave me a job soliciting sales over the telephone for Muhammad Speaks. I was there about a week when he told me he wanted me to meet Cassius Clay.
In her account of their initial date, she added;
I met him, and he asked me to marry him that night. I didn't know if he was serious or not. I didn't know anything about him... After we spent some time together, I felt needed by him... I wanted to be his wife and his best friend. I wasn't doing it for the money.
August 1964: The wedding of Muhammad Ali and Sonji Roi
Source: Facebook
According to a New York Times publication, the heavyweight champion and Sonji got married in a closely guarded ceremony at the office of the Justice of the Peace in Gary, Indiana, on 14 August 1964.
The couple received their marriage licence in Crown Point, Indiana. At the time of their nuptials, Cassius Clay identified as a Black Muslim. He gave his name as Muhammad Ali and listed both their races as Asiatic.
Although Indiana had a mandatory three-day waiting period for marriage licences throughout the 1960s, Ali and Roi were permitted to waive the waiting period after presenting blood test results taken in Miami, Florida, USA.
Source: Twitter
The wedding party, which included six companions, was whisked away soon after the brief ceremony. As per a UPI report, the heavyweight champion had warned reporters and photographers to keep their distance. While Sonji wore an ordinary summer dress, Cassius wore a regular business suit.
Unfortunately, the couple's relationship quickly broke down due to conflicting religious beliefs. While Roi craved personal freedom, Ali expected her to conform to Islamic beliefs of dress and conduct.
January 1966: Sonji Roi and Muhammad Ali's marriage annulment
On 8 July 1965, Jet Magazine reported news of Sonji Roi and Muhammad Ali's annulment. The suit that was filed on 23 June 1965 at the Dade County Circuit Court claimed that Sonji falsely promised to adopt the Islamic faith after their marriage.
Source: Getty Images
The suit also revealed that on or about 25 July 1964, the couple entered into a common-law marriage in Miami, Florida, and on 14 August 1964, were legally wed in a civil ceremony in Gary, Lake County, Indiana.
It further claimed that Ali never would have entered into the union if Roi had not promised to adhere to his faith. In the annulment report, Sonji gave her views on the situation,
I love him, and I know he loves me. He is being taken from me by his beliefs. I'll do anything I can to save my marriage.
Source: Getty Images
Concerning her conduct, she maintained that she remained in the background, kept the dietary laws, and stopped smoking and drinking, but did not stop wearing the ankle-length dresses as required of Muslim women. She further explained that she had tried to make the marriage work.
I sacrificed many of the things I was accustomed to doing, to be with him. I didn't go anywhere. I didn't do anything that the wife of a world champion would like to do... I'm normal like other women. I don't like to wear that stuff.
On 20 January 1966, Jet Magazine reported that Ali had been granted a divorce. Sonji Roi Clay was awarded $172,000, $15,000 in alimony for the next ten years, and $22,000 in attorney's fees.
The mystery of Sonji Roi's later years after divorce
Source: Getty Images
Clay later married Chicago attorney and businessman Reynaldo Preston Glover. The couple had a son, Brian Reynaldo Jr., before their divorce. Roi also had a son, Herman Griffin, an R&B-blues singer, from a previous relationship in her teenage years.
Sonji was portrayed in the 2001 film Ali by actress Jada Pinkett Smith. The role won her an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress. She was also portrayed in the 2018 play, Fetch Clay, Make a Man, by Shenyse LeAnna Harris.
On 11 October 2005, Sonji Clay-Glover was found dead in her Hyde Park home on Chicago's South Side. The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled her death natural. Her nephew believed that she may have suffered a heart attack.
FAQs
- What happened to Sonji Roi? The jazz singer and model passed away on 11 October 2005.
- Did Sonji Roi remarry after Ali? Sonji Roi remarried attorney Reynaldo Glover after her divorce from Muhammad Ali.
- How many kids did Muhammad Ali have with Sonji Roi? The American boxing champion had no children with Sonji Roi.
- How old was Muhammad Ali's first wife when they got married? Muhammad Ali's first wife, Sonji Roi, was 23 years old when they got married in August 1964.
- What was Sonji Roi's age at the time she died? At the time of her death in October 2005, Sonji Roi was 59 years old.
- When did Sonji Roi die? Muhammad Ali's first wife died of natural causes on 11 October 2005.
- Where is Sonji Roi buried? She was buried in Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens South in Glenwood, Cook County, Illinois, USA.
Sonji Roi was a prominent figure in Muhammad Ali's early career. She met and married the world heavyweight champion between July and August 1964 and later divorced him in January 1966. She is also popular for being a jazz singer with singles such as I Can't Wait, What Now My Love, Deeper In My Heart, and Here I Am & Here I'll Stay.
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Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
