In celebration of our past cover girl Skai Jackson’s 15th birthday (today, April 8), peep these 15 things we love about her. Here’s to you, Queen Skai — may you forever slay.
1. She’s got skills. Not only has Skai dominated Disney in her role as Zuri Ross, first on Jessie and now in the spinoff, Bunk’d, but she‘s also snagged quite a few movie appearances, commercials, and voice-over projects. She even landed a role in the former HBO series Boardwalk Empire.
2. She’s been killin’ the game since she was a legit baby. Skai’s mom started the young star out in commercials and print ads at just 9 months old. Skai’s appeared in ads for Target, Gap, Fischer Price, Band-Aid, and Kraft Singles, just to name a few.
3. Her clapbacks are goals. When it comes to sticking up for what’s right, Skai Jackson does not play. Last year, she got into a Twitter feud with rapper Azealia Banks after Banks unnecessarily came for her. Azealia tried it, but Skai shut. it. down without sinking to Banks’s level.
4. She’s got that role model status. In 2016, this positive powerhouse was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Youth for her show Jessie at the 47th NAACP Image Awards.
5. She’s a fashionista. Skai is super into fashion and told us in her cover interview that besides acting, she’d like to be a fashion designer. Her style? Laid-back and trendy with edgy tops and bottoms, funky prints, and mix-and-match patterns.
6. Her meme game is strong. One of the most popular memes of recent epicness all began with a simple picture of Skai, one she posted before going on set of Good Day New York in 2016. “I think it’s totally funny that I have a meme,” she told us in her summer 2016 cover interview.
7. She’s the inspo for the new Iron Man. The co-creator of 15-year-old Riri Williams, a new Marvel character who will be taking over the Iron Man suit, said that Skai was the inspiration for the character. How bomb is that?
8. She #werks those natural hairdos. Curly, straight, or braided up, Skai’s locks are always on point. She’s about that natural hair life and has shared how much she loves experimenting with cute looks.
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9. Her squad is filled with #BlackGirlMagic. She looks up to Amandla Stenberg, and rolls with other bosses like Yara Shahidi, Chloe and Halle, and Marsai Martin.
10. She’s a Black girl who rocks. For the 2016 Black Girls Rock awards show — her first time ever attending — Skai scored the spot as Coca-Cola’s red carpet correspondent.
11. Her fierceness extends beyond the screen. Ya’ girl is not even the least bit afraid of snakes, and she’s got the #receipts to prove it.
12. Even her name is royal. Her middle name is Syed meaning, “honorable or noble one.” In Arabic, it is sometimes used as a title for someone who is highly respected. Looks like her mother spoke Queen Skai’s greatness into existence.
13. She uses her voice to give back. Skai was recently a speaker at We Day New York 2017 — a community-driven event aimed at various social causes. She’s also a voice for No Kid Hungry — an organization on a mission to strike out child hunger. Beauty and heart … her BGM is endless.
14. Her moves are en pointe. Skai has been killin’ it on the dance floor as a ballerina, too, since she was just three years old. She also enjoys dancing for fun outside of the ballet studio.
15. She’s comfortable in her own queendom 👑. Now 15 years old, Skai Jackson is blazing her own path. She’s talented, brilliant, driven and gorgeous. Not to mention, she has the sort of wisdom and self-awareness of a woman twice her age, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds!
So there you have it — 15 of the hundreds of reasons we ❤️ Skai.
