Actress Gabrielle Union is a proud mother to her baby daughter Kaavia Wade. Kaavia is only 1, but she already has a sassy personality. Kaavia’s adorable sassiness has garnered over 1.2 million followers on her Instagram page (that her parents run).
Kaavia’s precociousness has even earned her the cute nickname “Shady Baby,” which her mother says she definitely lives up to. “Shady Baby is real! She’s very suspicious,” says Union. “And considering she only has a few words, she communicates perfectly.”
“It’s [Kaavia’s personality] changed dramatically in quarantine; I think it just sped up her learning curve,” says Union. “She likes to do things on her own. She wants to be a part of the conversation. But she’s also very clear about her boundaries.”
Gabrielle Union had Kaavia with her husband, NBA legend Dwyane Wade via surrogate. Though surrogacy is not a traditional path to parenthood, Union loves Kaavia all the same. “She brings us all the joy we could have ever imagined but there’s this extra layer. She is dreams fulfilled,” said Union. “She is the living embodiment of not giving up. I never thought this little girl could represent so much.”
Gabrielle Union is so proud of Kaavia that she recently released a children’s book to celebrate her daughter’s birth. Titled Welcome to the Party and illustrated by artist Ashley Evans, Gabrielle Union’s book is a tribute to motherhood and family. Union also wrote the book as a celebration of non-traditional families like hers.
“I wanted to create a love letter to my daughter to let her know that even though her entry into our family was a bit non-traditional, we love her and wanted her. And she is celebrated,” says Union. “This is also my love letter to every non-traditional family, blended families, that no matter how you became a new family, it is beautiful and real.”
