Skai Jackson

Jackson was born in the Staten Island borough of New York City.^[3] Her parents divorced when she was young, and she was raised primarily by her mother.^[4] She is of Afro-Honduran and African-American descent.^[5][6] Jackson began her career as a child model, appearing in numerous national commercials, including for Band-Aid, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Old Navy.^[7]

Jackson's first major acting role was in the 2007 independent film Liberty Kid, 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 pre-school animated series Bubble Guppies. She followed this with minor roles in the television series Team Umizoomi, Royal Pains and Boardwalk Empire, and the 2011 films Arthur and The Smurfs.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, Jackson was cast as Zuri Ross in the Disney Channel sitcom Jessie, which aired for four seasons and ended in 2015.^[8][9] For the role, she received an NAACP Image Award nomination.^[10] In 2013, she appeared as Joetta Watson in the Hallmark Channel television film The Watsons Go To Birmingham.^[11] In 2014, she guest-starred in an episode of Disney XD's animated series Ultimate Spider-Man.^[12] From 2015 to 2018, she reprised the role of Zuri in the series Bunk'd.^[13] She was included on Time magazine's list of "Most Influential Teens" in 2016, and was nominated for Best Influencer at the Shorty Awards in 2017.^[2][14]

Artist Mike Deodato, a co-creator of Ironheart / Riri Williams, confirmed that Skai Jackson inspired the Marvel comic book character.^[15][16][17] Jackson stated she would like to play Ironheart in a live-action adaptation. She auditioned for an unnamed role in the 2018 Marvel film Black Panther.^[18] Marvel eventually cast Dominique Thorne as Ironheart for the second Black Panther film and the subsequent MCU projects.^[19][20][21]

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's "Panini",^[22] which went viral and spawned several memes due to her character being unable to escape the rapper.^[23]

In 2019, Jackson made her writing debut with the book Reach for the Skai: How to Inspire, Empower, and Clapback,^[24][25] and began voicing Summer on the Netflix animated series DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders, which ended in 2020.^{[citation needed]}

In 2020, Jackson was announced as one of the celebrities competing on the 29th season of Dancing with the Stars with Alan Bersten. The pair made it to the semi-finals, and finished at 10th.^[26] In 2023, Jackson appeared in the action film Sheroes, her first feature film role in 10 years.^[27] Also in 2023, Jackson received scrutiny for hosting a $5 raffle with a MacBook as a prize through CashApp, and was accused 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."^[28]

In March 2024, Jackson became the brand ambassador for Cantu Beauty.^[29]

In March 2020, Jackson filed court papers for a restraining order against rapper Bhad Bhabie claiming that she had harassed her. The petition was temporarily granted, and later dropped by Jackson.^[30] On August 8, 2024, Jackson was arrested at Universal Studios Hollywood on suspicion of domestic battery.^[31][32][33] In September, the office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney declined to file charges against Jackson.^[33]

In November 2024, she confirmed to People that she was expecting her first child with then-boyfriend Deondre Burgin.^[34][35] She gave birth to their son in January 2025.^[36] In May 2025, she requested a restraining order against Burgin, accusing him of assault and battery.^[37]

Jackson has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.^[38][39]

• "Panini" (2019), by Lil Nas X^[44]

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