There’s nothing quite as powerful as a woman who knows her worth.
Marsai Martin: Black Magic Personified!
“Success is having a purpose, moving forward, and motivating people to do what they love,” she says. “When I was younger, I said I wanted to be a legend. That means when I leave this world, I want to make sure that I came with a purpose, made a positive mark, and inspired young girls to do the same thing that I did.”
At just 16, Black-ish superstar Marsai Martin holds the title Hollywood’s Youngest Producer! Worthy of note – HOLLYWOOD. An industry plagued by white supremacy. Super confident, ever passionate and on a quest to break even more barriers in the film world, Marsai has rightfully amassed great success many thanks to an enviable flourishing career and has now become an inspiration for generation Z. But don’t get it twisted, the world hasn’t scratched the surface of the wonders this box of talent is about to unveil.
The actress graces @popsugar ‘s latest digital edition and she spills on success journey, humble beginnings as a black girl in Hollywood, her mission and so much more.
Excerpts:
The Texas native in the chat revealed the sacrifice her parents, Carol and Joshua Martin paid to get her to this point. According to her, they had to relocate to LA about eight years ago so she could pursue acting. Marsai was just eight years old.
This further solidified the trust between Marsai and her parents, whom she describes as her biggest fans and “strict best friends.” Her parents have played a major role throughout her personal and professional endeavors, keeping her grounded, cheering her on when she needs encouragement and putting her in check if need be. “We definitely have a close relationship and talk to each other about everything,” she says, adding that even though they’re chill, they’ll “snap at you if you do anything crazy.”
Marsai became known many thanks to her portrayal of Diane Johnson on Black-ish, becoming a source of inspiration to young girls.
The role has fetched her a handful of awards she’s won throughout her career, including the three NAACP Image Awards she nabbed in 2020 and she’s ever grateful for the audience – her strong support system:
“I don’t like to call them ‘fans,'” she notes. “They’re more supporters or even family members because they help you grow and feel supported and loved” she says.
On how production kicked off for her, even as a young black girl working in the entertainment business. It all started after Marsai after rounding off the early seasons of Black-ish was hoping to work on other projects, but her agency at the time claimed that there weren’t any other roles for her, which Marsai knew wasn’t true. “They were like, ‘Just sit back, you’re good,'” she recalls. “‘There’s nothing else you could do right now.”
“That was probably the day when I was like, ‘Oh, they’re basically saying since I’m a young Black girl with glasses and an Afro, there’s nothing else for me,'” she continues. “If there isn’t anything for me, then there’s nothing for other Black girls who look like me who are trying to make it in this white-male-dominated, or even white-girl-dominated, industry where that’s the only standard of lead actors or actresses.” But rather than allowing the agency’s racism — and downright laziness — to inhibit her, Marsai took matters into her own hands. “That was the start of creating my own content, finding myself, and figuring out what I love,” she says. “I can just go for it and show other girls who look like me that they can do the same thing” According to Pop Sugar.
On the most beautiful thing about being a Black girl:
“We can do anything,” she says with a dreamy Southern drawl. “We can change our style, our skin is beautiful and comes in all different shades. Our inspirations, music, and culture are amazing. There’s just something cool about being Black. We’re dope, and people should see that more. I think some people do, they just don’t want to say it. Our culture, other people love it, and we don’t get the credit for it. But we know what we did, we know who we are, and that’s the cool thing about it.”
