Now that the Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani has been elected as New York City‘s mayor, his wife Rama Duwaji is the city’s youngest first lady to date.

That role will catapult the Gen Zer into the fame game, but the 28-year-old creative has navigated the glare of publicity deftly thus far. The New York City-based Syrian artist, animator and ceramicist was far from just a plus-one on the mayoral political race. Her portfolio includes illustrations, short films, animation and ceramics, and through portraiture and movement, her work delves into “the nuances of sisterhood and communal experiences,” according to her site. 

Duwaji, who did not respond to a media request, has worked for such companies as Vogue, The New Yorker, the Tate Modern, The Washington Post, the BBC, Apple, Spotify and Vice. She has also taught workshops on both illustration, animation and ceramics.

Last month, when her husband was squaring off against his opponents Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa in the final 2025 mayoral debate, Duwaji was hosting a workshop in ceramics at Huda, a new Levantine bistro in East Williamsburg. The restaurant planned to host a “Zohran for New York City Watch Party” on Nov. 4 “until Z wins.” A media request for comment from Huda’s owner Gehad Hadidi, (who also owns La Bonne Soupe in Manhattan) was acknowledged, but unreturned Tuesday.  

Duwaji’s most recent work includes imagery for Vogue that was titled, “‘The Cutter, the Sewer, and the Grommet Queen’ – Meet 9 of New York City’s Garment Workers.” She shared a glimpse of that in an Instagram post to her 182,000 followers. In her own words, Duwaji illustrated a piece “on highlighting the people behind the craftsmanship of Fashion Week and how labor visibility is so important when so much of everything else feels so extractive and non-human!”

She also noted how Ryan Phyn’s quote “Craft elevates notion of care” is “basically” her mantra for art. Duwaji also thanked American Vogue’s head of editorial content Chloe Malle, fashion writer Hannah Jackson and art director Hazel Zavala in her post. Malle said via email Tuesday, “We are all fans of Rama’s work and loved collaborating with her on the garment workers story. We look forward to working with her again in the future.”

Asked if Duwaji could land a Vogue cover, a Condé Nast spokesperson did not respond immediately Wednesday night, prior to the race having been called.

Spokespeople for The New Yorker and Spotify declined to comment about her work as an artist. A staffer at the Tate Modern also declined to comment about her work, in keeping with the museum’s policy of only commenting on artists’ careers, which are represented in the Tate’s collection.

Duwaji graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Communication Arts in 2019. She later earned a MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2024. Duwaji’s digital “Book Yallah, Eat!, 2023,” was exhibited at “The Book Show” at SVA. Faculty at both schools were unavailable to discuss her work as an artist this week.

She and Mamdani, who reportedly met on Hinge, celebrated their engagement in Dubai with a rooftop party and Nikkiah celebration last year. This year they made their marriage official with a trip to the City Clerk’s office in lower Manhattan for a civil ceremony. Le Marche des Fleurs, the events company and wedding planning business, described the couple’s subsequent Dubai event in an Instagram post as having “cascading florals, soft ivory roses, lisianthus and fresh ruscus [that] danced in harmony with the golden sunset. Each petal was placed with intention, from the grand floral arch framing the breathtaking Dubai skyline, to the lush garden-like tablescapes that spilled over with romance and detail. This wasn’t just decor; it was design with heart. A quiet kind of luxury.”

The company did not respond to a media request.

With a pixie cut, Duwaji’s personal style leans toward the understated, including her pairing of long shorts with an oversize buckle, midriff-skimming one-shoulder top and cowboy boots. On Election Day, she went to cast her ballot with Mamdani at the Frank Sinatra School of Arts, wearing a short-sleeve semi-sheer black top with a belted black skirt and black knee-length boots. 

On Instagram, Duwaji periodically lists things that make her want to create art. In October, Lily Fine’s paintings, the engraved facade of a West 29th Street building, Hawa Al-Najjar’s “eye for beauty in everyday objects,” Rania Kadafour’s “beautiful piece ‘Mosquito,’” and Lenz Geert’s style were among the things that intrigued her.

At the time of a 2019 interview with Shado Magazine, Duwaji was dividing her time between Dubai and Washington, D.C. While Duwaji works mostly in digital now, she also creates ceramics, including handmade illustrated plates, according to her site.

In the interview, Duwaji spoke of wanting to “open up conversations about mental health” through her art. As for what she wanted viewers to take from her work at that point in her life, Duwaji said, “The goal is to dismantle beauty conventions, but also it’s more about the individuals who interact with my work, and their slow but steady growth as they see more unapologetic women of color in media. I think as more artists/designers/filmmakers aim to represent a diverse range of people in their work we’ll hopefully normalize unconventional beauty standards for children and women alike.”

Although New York City’s first lady is not an elected role, it is one that inevitably comes with scrutiny. However, that position has evolved, with a break from the historic norm, “where women were present and although they had advanced from being the ceremonial to take on initiatives, those initiatives were mostly philanthropic, children and education,” according to University at Albany SUNY lecturer Lauren Kozakiewicz.

Speaking of Duwaji, she said, “For someone to have their own activist identity is really a nice 21st-century development. We haven’t really had many those.”

Although Rudy Giuliani’s second wife Donna Hanover was a television broadcaster while acting as the city’s first lady from 1994 to 2001, there were also “marital difficulties and a lot of family drama that could be difficult for a mayor. The couple divorced in 2002, Kozakiewicz said. While former New York City mayor John Lindsay’s “more polished” wife Mary was more visible than her predecessors, due to her stylishness, “now there is an opportunity for any [mayoral] first lady to be substantively involved, if she wants to alongside her spouse or to continue her initiative. I know Rama is an artist. For her, that is like a political statement. So, she doesn’t need to stop that as someone would have in the 20th century,” Kozakiewicz said.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on Nov. 4 at 10:30 pm EST.