Marsai Martin has practically grown up in the public eye. She has transformed herself from being simply Diane Johnson on the hit ABC television show, Black-ish to a multi-faceted heavy hitter in the entertainment industry well before becoming an official adult. Martin has now marked another milestone in life as she celebrates her sweet sixteenth birthday.
We have compiled sixteen fun facts about Martin to help celebrate this important year. Check out our list and see how many you actually knew about this truly talented young woman!
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1. Marsai Martin is set to host her own talk show, the Tiny Talk Show, which will stream exclusively on Quibi.
“Excited to announce this project! Thanks to @Quibi, Art & Industry and all of our producing partners. A special congrats to my Head of television, Nicole Dow. Here’s to the first of many,” Martin posted on her Instagram account about the show.
2. She fired her agents after a year on Black-ish.
“They kind of just laughed at us. They didn’t see the vision. But I think they didn’t see it because they saw what I looked like: A little black girl that no one would want to see,” Martin told the Associated Press. “So, we fired them.”
3. She is already CEO of her own company, Genius Productions.
“We wanted to make the production company so other young, black girls, and just people in general that look like [me] can relate to themselves on TV, because we don’t have a lot of inspiration for people to look up to in the industry because, of course, they’ll see us in a different way,” Martin told People Magazine.
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4. Entertainment is in her blood. She was a born performer from the beginning.
“It just runs through my family, to be honest. I come from a very big musical, entertainment background,” she told People Magazine. “I would say, I was I guess a toddler when I actually found my passion, because when I was little I used to mimic all these movies and sing all this music that you wouldn’t think a toddler would know. I would think my passion just started there and it just grew with me.”
5. She’s already got another movie in the works-StepMonster.
We remember how Little defied expectations and has gone down in history, literally?! Well, expectations for this new project, where a teenage girl has to adjust to living with a new stepmother, are just as high. We are expecting another blockbuster hit.
6. Like many young celebrities, she used her platform and voice to campaign for Stacey Abrams.
“Listening to [Stacey Abrams’s] testimony about her journey and her position on the issues that are important to her, really resonated with me…One of my goals is to eventually get to a point where we don’t have anymore ‘the firsts’ and inclusion and balanced representation will be a normal thing in all areas,” she wrote on her Instagram account.
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7. In addition to CEO, she is also an executive producer.
Martin not only starred in Little, she created it, and executive produced the film. Talk about #blackgirlmagic in action!
8. She’s in the Bey-hive.
But, then again…who isn’t. Check out this flashback of Martin singing, Love on Top.
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9. Marsai is not her first name.
Martin’s first name is actually, Caila. Her middle name is Marsai.
10. Martin is a #texasgirl.
Martin was born in Little Elm, Texas, a suburb within the Dallas/Ft Worth Metro area. Which according to their website is, “The Town with a Lake Attitude!”
11. Her office at Genius Productions is decked out in a teenage fashion.
Martin’s office is definitely a place that dreams are made of. The 16-year-old actress keeps it stocked with goodies such as Goldfish and Rice Krispie treats. Additionally, there are colorful throw pillows, big plants, and an entire wall of Polaroid pictures.
“It’s a creative spot for me and a place where I can express how I feel and just get my mind in a cool place where I can just come up with anything I want,” she told the Associated Press in an interview.
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12. Martin landed her first commercial at age five.
Remember, she was born to be in front of an audience, so it is no surprise that she landed her first big break so young!
13. Martin is a lefty.
Martin joins the ranks of other famous lefties including Napoleon, Da’ Vinci, Einstein, Newton, Bill Gates, Oprah, Obama, Hugh Jackman and Brad Pitt.
14. She loves pineapples on her pizza.
Believe it or not, that’s more common than not for many.
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15. She doesn’t like peanut butter.
“I do NOT like peanut butter,” she told justjared.com. “I’m not allergic, I just can’t get into it. I prefer cookie butter because it’s full of cookies, of course.”
16. Most people from the Dallas are Cowboys fans, not Martin.
“I am from the Dallas area,” she tells justjared.com, “but I am a Denver Broncos fan.”
Happy Birthday, Marsai! We hope that you celebrate in grand fashion.
