Tiffany Haddish first broke onto the scene thanks to her role in the raunchy comedy [1] Girls Trip and she's just getting started. Not only is the 38-year-old incredibly funny and talented, but she's already made friends with Beyoncé [2] and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith [3]. And not only that, but she'll also be starring in Tyler Perry's upcoming film [4], The List. Here are five things to know about Tiffany.
- She's of Eritrean Jewish descent. Her father is from Eritrea [6], though she didn't meet him until she was an adult. During a radio appearance on The Breakfast Club [7] in June 2017, she revealed that she found him through her ex-husband, who is a detective, and he was able to walk her down the aisle before he passed away.
- She had a hard time growing up. Tiffany's childhood was cut short at the age of 9 when her mom tragically passed away [8] in a car accident. As a result, the actress lived in foster homes during her teenage years and was separated from her four siblings. "By the time I was 13 . . . we were split up and put in foster homes," she wrote in a piece for Origin magazine in 2013. They eventually reunited when they moved to live with their grandmother.
Tiffany was also known for misbehaving in class. "[My] social worker got tired of coming to my school and said, 'Tiffany, you have two choices this Summer: you can go to the Laugh Factory Comedy Camp or you can go to psychiatric therapy,'" she wrote. "I decided to go to comedy camp. The Laugh Factory gave me a voice and an outlet for my pain. I would not realize how much I needed comedy until many years later."
- She's single. While not much is known about her previous relationship, Tiffany was married for five years before she got divorced in 2013. "I gave everything I had. It just felt like I was back to that 9-year-old not being good enough, not being able to do enough," Tiffany previously said on The Breakfast Club. "I was not going to allow my dreams to shut down. I was not going to allow no man to shut down this dream I have because it keeps coming to me. God keeps telling me, 'You got to do this. You gotta share your story. You gotta spread this joy, you gotta spread love.'"
- There's a good chance you've seen her before. While Girls Trip might be her biggest project to date, Tiffany appeared in 2016's Keanu [9] as Hi-C and has played Nekeisha on The Carmichael Show since 2015. She's also had smaller roles on shows like Real Housewives of Hollywood, The Game, and Secret Girlfriend.
- She took Will and Jada Pinkett Smith [10] on a Groupon swamp tour. To make matters even better, Tiffany was high the entire time [11]. During a stop on the Jimmy Kimmel Live, the actress talked about their amazing adventure, saying, "They loved it. They were so happy I brought them around regular people."
- She's only just getting started. Not only did she have her own stand-up comedy special, Tiffany Haddish: She Ready!, on Showtime, but she currently stars in Tracy Morgan's TBS comedy series [12], The Last O.G., and will appear in the upcoming Lego Movie 2 [13].
Get up close and personal with Tiffany Haddish at POPSUGAR Play/Ground [14]! On Sunday, June 10, she'll be taking the stage to talk about how she powered through struggles to become a success. Get your POPSUGAR Play/Ground tickets now [15].