Caila Marsai Martin (born August 14, 2004) is an American actress, best known for her role as Diane Johnson on the ABC sitcom ''

Black-ish ''Black-ish'' (stylized as black·''ish'', `black·''ish'', and black''ish'') is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons. ''Black-ish'' ...

'' (2014–2022). In 2019, Martin starred in the comedy film '' Little'', which she also produced, becoming the youngest person ever to produce a studio film. The same year, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine named her on its "

Time 100 ''Time'' 100 (often stylized as ''TIME'' 100) is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, ...

Next".

Early life

Martin was born in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. History European settlers came to the area near ...

, to African-American parents Carol and Joshua Martin. Martin's acting career started after a glamour pictorial. The photographer gave them a discount in exchange for her father's promise that he would submit the photos to talent agencies. The photos were sent out to four agencies and one immediately signed her. At age five, she landed her first national commercial for Choice Hotel. Her family then moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 2013, so she could pursue an acting career.

Career

In 2014, Martin was cast as Diane Johnson, the daughter of Andre (

Anthony Anderson Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in drama series such as Marlin Boulet on '' K-Ville'', and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama ...

) and Rainbow Johnson (

Tracee Ellis Ross Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series '' Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and '' Black-ish'' (2014–2022). She is ...

) on the ABC sitcom ''

'', created by

Kenya Barris Kenya Barris (born August 9, 1973) is an American film and television writer, producer, director, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the ABC sitcom ''black-ish'' (2014–2022). Early life Barris was born in Inglewood, California, ...

. For her breakthrough role, Martin has received numerous awards and nominations, including three

NAACP Image Awards 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. Similar to ...

for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

. She has received six NAACP Image Awards nominations and two Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. In 2016, Martin made her film debut, playing a leading role in the

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

original film '' An American Girl Story – Melody 1963: Love Has to Win'', set in Detroit during the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

. That same year, she did a voice role for the movie ''Nina'', which tells the life story of American artist and activist Nina Simone. In 2019, Martin starred in her first studio feature film, the comedy '' Little'', for

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. At the age of 13, she became executive producer of the film, making her the youngest person to ever produce a movie, as well as the youngest African-American producer. In February 2019, Genius Productions, Martin's company, signed a first-look production deal with Universal. Martin's first film as part of the deal is StepMonster, a comedy about a teenage girl who is adjusting to life with a new stepmother. She is the youngest person to get a first-look deal at Universal, and the youngest person to get a deal at any studio. In May 2019, it was announced Martin would be producing and starring in the film adaption of ''Amari and the Night Brothers'' for Universal Pictures. In December 2019, it was announced that Martin would be producing the comedy film ''Queen''. She voiced the character Liberty in the 2021 film '' PAW Patrol: The Movie''. In April 2022, it was announced that Martin would star alongside

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During the gr ...

and

Omari Hardwick Omari Latif Hardwick (born January 9, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring role as James "Ghost" St. Patrick, the protagonist of Starz's ''Power'' and his role as Vanderohe in Zack Snyder's ''Army of the Dead'' (2021). He is also kn ...

in the upcoming film ''Fantasy Football''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Marsai Living people Actresses from Texas African-American actresses American film actresses American television actresses 21st-century American actresses African-American child actresses American child actresses African-American film producers American women film producers American voice actresses 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people Year of birth missing (living people)