Sunday (July 15) was a special day for Naturi Naughton and her family. The Power star and her boyfriend, Benjamin, held a small christening service for their daughter, Zuri, just ahead of her first birthday.
“My biggest blessing,” Naturi said of her baby girl this past weekend. “I’m overflowing with gratitude and love,” she exclaimed. “Dedicating her back to God in the church that I grew up in brought me to tears!”
Little Zuri was christened at New Hope Baptist Church in East Orange, New Jersey. Naturi Naughton recently reminisced on her younger days in East Orange during an interview with ESSENCE. “I’ve always wanted to be a multitalented triple threat,” she shared.
“When I was a little girl, I said I wanted to be like Whitney Houston: a singer, an actress. I wanted to be able to dance. I studied dance, piano, and voice. The fact that I’ve gotten a chance to do all of my passions is such a blessing.”
Naturi also talked about how her character onscreen as Tasha was much different from her real life during expectancy. “Life is really interesting in so many different ways,” Naughton explained.
“As an artist, I was creating this emotionally devastating situation with losing a daughter, but at the same time that I was shooting the scenes about the death of Raina, I was pulling from the fact that I was carrying a life. Choosing to have my beautiful daughter Zuri was the best decision I could have ever made. Not for my career but for me as a human. I’m a better woman; I’m a better person because of her.”
Zhuri is Naturi Naughton and Benjamin’s first child. Stay tuned for more celebrity family news!
