Marsai Martin, the youngest executive producer in history, is best known for her role as Diane Johnson in the hit sitcom Black-ish.
Born in Plano, Texas, Martin’s parents began noticing her natural desire for the spotlight. They decided to take her to Kim Dawson Agency in Dallas, where they immediately signed her at the age of 5. Her acting career officially started in 2012 when she landed her first national commercial for Choice Hotels.
As a student at Cathryn Sullivan Acting for Film, she attended a seminar that included several Los Angeles-based agents. securing representation with Melissa Berger at CESD Talent Agency. Her family then moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue her acting career, and soon after, she solidified a spot in a major national commercial campaign with Meineke.
In 2016, Martin made her film debut playing a leading role in the Amazon Studios original film An American Girl Story – Melody 1963: Love Has to Win, set in Detroit during the Civil Rights Movement.
Further, at 13-years-old, she produced her own feature film called Little co-starring Issas Rae and Regina Hall, a movie circled around an African American woman who was bullied at a young age. Then, in her mid-30s, she grew up to be a multimillionaire inventor, but was a bully to everyone she encountered. The woman then became a young girl again learning valuable lessons on her journey being “little.”
Now 15-year-old actress and producer is one of the most dominant actresses under 17-years-old. Martin is not only making Black History, but she is making women’s history as well. She is inspirational to not only her peers but someone many young adults look up to.
Martin is now a nine-time NAACP Image Award winner. With all of her many accomplishments at such a young age, we can expect to be nothing short of amazed when she reaches her prime.