Muhammad Ali’s first wife was Sonji Roi. The two met in 1964, the same year Ali, then known as Cassius Marcellus Clay, won his first heavyweight championship.
Their whirlwind romance and marriage thrust Roi into the spotlight, but little is known about her life before and after her high-profile relationship.
In this article, we will provide a comprehensive look at Sonji Roi’s early life and career, her brief marriage to Ali, the reasons for their divorce, her life after Ali, and finally her death and legacy.
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Early Life of Sonji Roi and Career as a Waitress
Very little is known about Sonji Roi’s early life, as she revealed little about her family and upbringing even at the height of her fame.
She was born in 1946 in the United States, although her exact birth date and location are unknown publicly.
It is believed Roi lost both her parents when she was relatively young. Having to fend for herself from an early age shaped her independent spirit.
To support herself financially, Roi worked multiple jobs even as a teenager.
She started working as a waitress in nightclubs, in addition to brief stints as a model. Her modeling career allowed her to highlight her natural beauty and fashion sense.
However, it was her job as a cocktail waitress that would eventually change the course of her life.
In 1964, while working at a Miami nightclub, the 22-year-old Roi met rising boxing superstar Muhammad Ali.
At the time, Ali was still going by his birth name Cassius Clay as he had not converted to Islam yet. Ali won his first Heavyweight Championship title earlier that year.
Sonji Roi Marriage to Muhammad Ali in 1964
Sonji Roi and Cassius Clay (aka Muhammad Ali) met for the first time in July 1964 at a Miami nightclub where Roi worked as a cocktail waitress. As the story goes, it was love at first sight for the pair.
At the time, Ali was 22 years old and had just won his first World Heavyweight Championship title. Roi was 23 years old.
According to Roi’s own account, Ali proposed marriage to her that very night they met, taking her completely by surprise.
“I met him, and he asked me to marry him that night.” – Sonji Roi
Their whirlwind romance led to an engagement after just one month of dating. On August 14, 1964, Roi and Ali were married in a simple ceremony in Gary, Indiana.
Since Ali had not yet converted to Islam at the time, Roi took on the name Sonji Clay after their nuptials. She became known to the public as Mrs. Sonji Clay.
However, their marriage was short, lasting only about 2 years before they divorced in January 1966. Sonji and Muhammad never had children together, though Ali went on to have nine children with his future wives.
Why Sonji Roi Divorced Muhammad Ali?
Sonji Roi’s divorce from Muhammad Ali after just two years of marriage came as a surprise to the public who had viewed them as a perfect celebrity couple. However, there was mounting conflict behind the scenes.
The main point of contention in their marriage was Ali’s growing devotion to Islam after his conversion in 1964. Roi refused to convert to Islam along with Ali.
He was trying to force the religion on her and that his devotion to Islam had drastically changed him.
Sonji Roi said, “I wasn’t going to take on all the Muslims. If I had, I probably would have ended up dead.”
According to Roi’s own account, Ali began coercing her to adhere strictly to Muslim customs.
This included dressing conservatively, changing her diet, altering her lifestyle, and conforming to Islamic marriage traditions.
“He [Ali] told me if I stopped smoking, drinking, and changed my diet and wore long dresses to the Temple it would be all right.” – said Roi.
Muhammad Ali, the People’s Champ by Elliott J. Gorn
As an independent-minded woman, Roi was unwilling to alter her identity and way of life so drastically for her husband’s beliefs. She felt Ali was attempting to force Islam upon her against her wishes.
Most critically, Roi felt Ali’s dedication to his newfound faith had fundamentally changed him as a person. His reasoning and intellect seemed altered to her after his conversion.
“She was an independent woman and she wanted to be herself.” – Doc White, Sonji’s friend, on her strong spirit.
This irreconcilable difference in religious beliefs led to bitter arguments and a strained relationship. After two years of tension, Roi filed for divorce from Ali in 1966, citing irreconcilable differences.
Roi would later state that she felt she had no choice but to end the marriage, even though it meant separating from the global superstar she still loved. For Roi, maintaining her own identity was non-negotiable.
Life of Sonji Roi After Divorcing Ali
After her high-profile split from Muhammad Ali in 1966, Sonji Roi sought to begin a new life independent of her fame as Ali’s wife.
She moved from Miami, where she lived with Ali, back to Chicago to start fresh.
In Chicago, Roi met lawyer and business advisor Reynaldo Glover. The two started a relationship and eventually married, making Glover Roi’s second husband.
With Glover, Roi gave birth to a son named Brian Reynaldo Jr. However, the marriage did not prove successful in the long run and ended in another divorce.
Roi also had a second son named Herman Griffin from another relationship, although the father’s identity remains unknown publicly.
Despite two failed marriages, Roi did not wed again after divorcing Glover. She focused on raising her two sons as a single mother in Chicago.
After leaving her husband Ali, Roi also pursued some creative passions. She dabbled in singing, cutting a couple of records that saw modest success, including “Here I Am and Here I Stay.”
She also spent some time modeling. However, most of Roi’s life after Ali was devoted to her children. She shunned the spotlight and lived quietly in Chicago until her death.
Roi proved her mettle as an independent woman determined to make her own way in the world separate from her famous ex-husband. Though the marriage failed, Roi emerged confident in her identity.
How Did Sonji Roi Die?
After leading a relatively quiet life in Chicago following her divorce from Muhammad Ali, Sonji Roi passed away in 2005 at the age of 60.
She was found dead in her Hyde Park home on October 11, 2005, under unknown circumstances. No autopsy was performed on her body.
Her cause of death was never officially determined, but some speculate she may have suffered a heart attack or died of natural causes. Roi’s nephew stated his belief that stress contributed to her deteriorating health.
While she shunned the media in her later years, Roi’s brief marriage to boxing legend Muhammad Ali remained her claim to fame throughout her life.
Being the ex-wife of one of the most iconic athletes in the world brought Roi significant attention, despite her desire to be known independently.
Roi’s union and split from Ali also highlighted her fierce independence and strong will in the face of adversity.
Rather than compromising her beliefs to conform to Ali’s wishes, Roi held fast to her own identity. For a young black woman in the 1960s, standing up to the most famous man in America reflected immense courage.
Share this article to honor the resilient spirit of Sonji Roi – the woman who said “I do” to the Greatest, but also had the courage to walk away on her own terms and rebuild independently. Despite fame’s allure, Roi defined herself and left an empowering legacy for strong women.
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FAQs
After divorcing Muhammad Ali, Sonji moved back to Chicago from Miami. In Chicago, she launched a brief singing career and married her second husband Reynaldo Glover in 1967. She died in 2005 at age 60 and was found dead in her Chicago home.
They did not have any children together during their marriage from 1964 to 1966.
Ali proposed to Sonji Roi on their first date and married her in the same year. They divorced after 2 years in 1966 due to Ali’s increasing commitment to Islam, which she did not want to follow.
Cassius Clay’s first wife was Sonji Roi. They married in 1964 before he converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
Muhammad Ali was married four times in his life. His first wife was Sonji Roi, followed by Belinda Boyd, Veronica Porche, and Yolanda Williams.
