She started her acting career in theatre before moving to television, where she created, co-wrote, and starred in Super City.

[2] Sami rose to prominence starring in Toa Fraser's play Bare, directed by Michael Robinson,[3] winning Best Actress at the 1999 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards.

[1] In 2011, Sami created, co-wrote alongside Tom Sainsbury, and starred in her own comedy series, Super City, which was directed by Taika Waititi.

[4] Sami played five different characters in the show and won Best Performance by an Actress at the 2011 Aotearoa Film & Television Awards.

[5][6] She later co-hosted The Great Kiwi Bake Off and starred in the television series Golden Boy and The Bad Seed.

[16] On 17 May 2021, Sami appeared on The Masked Singer NZ as the "Monarch (Butterfly)", getting eliminated in the fourth episode.