Skai Jackson (born April 8, 2002) is an American actress. With such accolades as a Shorty Award and a nomination for a

NAACP Image Award 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 ...

, she was featured in ''Time'''s list of the most influential teens in 2016. After early child acting roles in the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

Liberty Kid ''Liberty Kid'' is a 2007 low-budget United States, American film directed by Ilya Chaiken. Plot Two friends Derrick and Tico lost their jobs at a concession stand at the Statue of Liberty because of the September 11 attacks. In order to make mone ...

'' (2007) and with cameos in '' The Rebound'' (2009) and ''The Smurfs'' (2011), Jackson gained recognition for her starring role as Zuri Ross in the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

comedy series '' Jessie'' (2011–2015) and its spin-off series '' Bunk'd'' (2015–2018). She received a

nomination for the role. Jackson has since voiced characters in the '' Marvel Rising'' franchise (2018–2019) and '' DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders'' (2019–2022), and starred in the film ''

Sheroes ''Sheroes'' is a 2023 American action adventure film written and directed by Jordan Gertner and starring Sasha Luss, Wallis Day, Isabelle Fuhrman and Skai Jackson. It is Gertner's feature directorial debut. Plot Rich heiress Diamond surprise ...

'' (2023). Her memoir ''Reach for the Skai: How to Inspire, Empower, and Clapback'' was released in 2019. Jackson was also a semi-finalist on the 29th season of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' (2020). She has also been recognised for her social media presence.

Early life

Jackson was born in the

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

borough of New York City. Her parents divorced when she was young, and was raised primarily by her mother. She is of Afro-Honduran and

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

descent. Jackson began her career as a

child model A child model is a child who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art, such as photography, painting and sculpture. Practice Artists have used children as models for countless ...

, appearing in numerous national commercials, including for Band-Aid,

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

, and

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay, San Francisco, Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of t ...

Career

Jackson's first major acting role was in the 2007 independent film ''

'', which was followed by a guest appearance in a 2008 episode of '' Rescue Me''. In 2009, Jackson made a cameo in the film '' The Rebound'', and was cast as Little Fish in the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

pre-school animated series '' Bubble Guppies''. She followed this with minor roles in the television series '' Team Umizoomi'', ''

Royal Pains ''Royal Pains'' is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on the USA Network from 2009 to 2016. The series is based in part on contemporary concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies and follows Hank Lawson, ...

'' and ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. The series sta ...

'', and the 2011 films ''

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

'' and ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (; ) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was created and introduced as a series of comic characters by ...

''. In 2011, Jackson was cast as Zuri Ross in the

sitcom '' Jessie'', which aired for four seasons and ended in 2015. For the role, she received an

nomination. In 2013, she appeared as Joetta Watson in the

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

''The Watsons Go To Birmingham''. In 2014, she guest-starred in an episode of

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...

's animated series ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...

''. From 2015 to 2018, she reprised the role of Zuri in the series '' Bunk'd''. She was included on ''Time'' magazine's list of "Most Influential Teens" in 2016, and was nominated for Best Influencer at the

Shorty Awards The Shorty Awards (also known as "The Shortys") are awards for outstanding and innovative work in digital and social media content by brands, advertising agencies, and creators. The awards, which generally focus on short-term content, honor achiev ...

in 2017. In 2018, Jackson made a guest appearance in '' Marvel Rising: Initiation'' as Glory Grant, a role she reprised in ''Marvel Rising: Chasing Ghosts,'' and ''Marvel Rising: Battle of the Bands.'' In 2019, she appeared in the music video for

Lil Nas X Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), better known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2018 country rap single "Old Town Road," the longest-running nu ...

's " Panini", which went viral and spawned several

meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...

s due to her character being unable to escape the rapper. In 2019, Jackson made her writing debut with the book ''Reach for the Skai: How to Inspire, Empower, and Clapback'', and began voicing Summer on the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

animated series '' DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders'', which ended in 2020. In 2020, Jackson was announced as one of the celebrities competing on the 29th season of ''

'' with Alan Bersten. The pair made it to the semi-finals, and finished at 10th. In 2023, Jackson appeared in the action film ''

'', her first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

role in 10 years. Also in 2023, Jackson received scrutiny for hosting a $5 raffle with a

MacBook MacBook is a type of Mac laptop computer that is developed and marketed by Apple that use Apple's macOS operating system since 2006. The MacBook brand replaced the PowerBook and iBook brands during the Mac transition to Intel processors, ann ...

as a prize through CashApp, and was accused her of scamming her followers in order to gain money. Jackson said in response: "It is not that serious, for a damn $5. It is called a raffle." In March 2024, Jackson became the brand ambassador for Cantu Beauty.

Personal life

She has

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

Relationships

Jackson confirmed to ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' in November 2024 that she was expecting her first child with then-boyfriend Deondre Burgin. She gave birth to their son in January 2025. In May 2025, she requested a restraining order against Burgin, accusing him of assault and battery.

Legal issues

In March 2020, Jackson filed court papers for a

restraining order A restraining order or protective order is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation often involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and perso ...

against rapper Bhad Bhabie claiming that she had harassed her. The petition was temporarily granted, and later dropped by Jackson. On August 8, 2024, Jackson was arrested at

Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and Amusement park, theme park located in Universal City, California, near Hollywood, Los Angeles. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. Its official marketin ...

on suspicion of domestic battery. In September, the office of the

Los Angeles County District Attorney The District Attorney of Los Angeles County is in charge of the office that prosecutor, prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within Los Angeles County, California, United States. The current district attorney (DA) is Nathan Hochma ...

declined to file charges against Jackson.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

* " Panini" (2019), by

Bibliography

* ''Reach for the Skai: How to Inspire, Empower, and Clapback'' (2019)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Skai 2002 births Living people 21st-century American actresses African-American child actresses 21st-century African-American actresses African diaspora in Honduras American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from Staten Island American people of Honduran descent Hispanic and Latino American actresses People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder