Caila Marsai Martin ( ; born August 14, 2004) is an American actress and producer, best known for her role as Diane Johnson on the ABC sitcom ''

Black-ish ''Black-ish'' (stylized as black·''ish'') is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons with 176 episodes. ''Black-ish'' follows an uppe ...

'' (2014–2022). In 2019, Martin had a starring role in the comedy film '' Little'', which she also produced at the age of 14. She holds the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

as the youngest Hollywood executive producer for the movie. ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine named her on its "

Time 100 ''Time'' 100 is a list of the top 100 most influential people, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, politicians, and journalists, the list is now a highly ...

Next" the year of its release. In 2022, she produced and starred in the sports comedy film, '' Fantasy Football''.

Early life

Martin was born in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "flat surface" /'plano/) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, where it is the largest city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County. A small portion of Plano is located in Denton County, Texas, Denton Count ...

to Carol and Joshua Martin. Martin's acting career was launched with a glamour pictorial, in which the photographer gave Martin's parents a discount in exchange for her father's promise that he would submit the photos to talent agencies. The photos were sent out to four agencies and one immediately signed her. At age five, Martin landed her first national commercial for Choice Hotel. Her family then moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 2013, so she could pursue an acting career.

Career

In 2014, Martin was cast as Diane Johnson, the daughter of Andre (

Anthony Anderson Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is known for his leading roles in television shows such as Andre "Dre" Johnson on the comedy series ''Black-ish'' (2014–2022), Marlin Boulet on the ...

) and Rainbow Johnson ( Tracee Ellis Ross) on the ABC sitcom ''

'', created by Kenya Barris. For her breakthrough role, Martin has received numerous awards and nominations, including three

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

. She has received six NAACP Image Awards nominations and two Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. In 2016, Martin made her film debut, playing a leading role in the

Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

original film '' An American Girl Story – Melody 1963: Love Has to Win'', set in Detroit during the Civil Rights Movement. That same year, she did a voice role for the movie ''Nina'', which tells the life story of American artist and activist Nina Simone. In 2019, Martin starred in her first studio feature film, the comedy '' Little'', for

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. At the age of 13, she became

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

of the film, making her the youngest person to ever produce a movie, as well as the youngest African-American producer. In February 2019, Genius Productions, Martin's company, signed a first-look production deal with Universal. Martin's first film as part of the deal is StepMonster, a comedy about a teenage girl who is adjusting to life with a new stepmother. She is the youngest person to get a first-look deal at Universal, and the youngest person to get a deal at any studio. In May 2019, it was announced Martin would be producing and starring in the film adaptation of ''Amari and the Night Brothers'' for Universal Pictures. In December 2019, it was announced that Martin would be producing the comedy film ''Queen''. She voiced the character Liberty in the 2021 film '' PAW Patrol: The Movie'' and the 2023 sequel film '' PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie''. In April 2022, it was announced that Martin would star alongside

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

and Omari Hardwick in the comedy film '' Fantasy Football''. In 2023, she produced '' Saturdays'', a coming-of-age comedy television series for Disney Channel. The show was canceled after one season. In 2024, Martin competed in season twelve of '' The Masked Singer'' as "Woodpecker" where

Jenifer Lewis Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films ''Beaches'' (1988) and '' Sister Act'' (1992). L ...

(who portrayed "Miss Cleocatra" back in season eleven) served as her Mask Ambassador. She was eliminated in the Group A finals alongside

Paula Cole Paula Dorothy Cole (born April 5, 1968) is an American singer and songwriter. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, '' Harbinger'', which suffe ...

as "Ship".

Personal life

Martin is currently in a relationship with

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

driver Rajah Caruth.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Marsai 2004 births Living people 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Texas African-American child actresses African-American film producers American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses American women film producers People from Plano, Texas