3 Successful Black Celebrity Single Mothers 2023

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Let’s face it, being a mom is tough enough. However, being a single mom will require superhuman strength. Motherhood is no joke because mothers play the defining role in shaping the smallest unit of society– the family.

Not every woman gets it right with motherhood, and many women get so swallowed up in their maternal duties that they forget to chase their dreams. These women didn’t. Even though they were alone. Below, you’ll find three successful black celebrity single mothers that have made a name for themselves in the entertainment industry. I hope you enjoy it!

1. Taraji P. Henson

Not every love story ends with “and they lived happily ever after”. Sometimes we lose a loved one along the way. The same goes for Taraji Penda Henson.

The now 52-year-old actress and singer (as of 11th September 2022) has survived many storms to become one of the most influential black women in the world today.

Taraji dated her high school sweetheart William LaMarr Johnson for the early part of her youthful years but he was later murdered in 2003. Left with little Marcell and $700, Henson decided to move to Hollywood with nothing but a strong will for survival and big dreams.

Taraji’s matrilineal lineage can be traced to the Masa tribe in Cameroon. Her first and middle names are said to be of Swahili descent. Taraji means ‘hope’ while Penda means ‘love’.

She indeed held onto hope for all the years that she had to care for her son Marcell as a solo mom. She was only in junior high when she found out that she was pregnant but even with all the challenges surrounding her life and family, she decided to keep him. She gave birth to Marcell Johnson in 1994.

Motherhood is never easy and Henson acknowledges this in her apology statement when she realizes her mistake after calling out the Glendale police in 2014.

Taraji accused the Glendale Police Department of racial profiling her son while he was driving through Glendale, California. She accused them of illegally searching her son at a traffic stop but the Los Angeles Times later cleared the accusations with a video that showed how Marcell drove through a lighted crosswalk while a pedestrian was still crossing.

The video also showed Marcell giving consent to the police search and him admitting to driving under the influence of marijuana (as he smoked it two hours before he started driving). He was also found to be in possession of Hashish oil and marijuana during the search.

Taraji dropped an official statement on her Instagram page where she publicly apologized to the officer that conducted the search and the Glendale Police Department.

“I would like to publicly apologize to the officer and the Glendale Police Department. A mother’s job is not easy, and neither is a police officer’s.”
–Taraji P. Henson, 2014.

Being a single mom didn’t stop Henson from acquiring many awards in her field. In 2015, she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series (for Empire). She also won the Critics’ Choice Television Award in the same category for Empire. Thus becoming the first black actress in the history of the awards show to do so.

Henson has won three Primetime Emmy Awards (for Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story and Empire). Not to mention, multiple Screen Actors Guild Awards (winning Outstanding Motion Picture Cast in 2017 for Hidden Figures).

2. Nia Talita Long

Nia Long is a successful American actress that takes pride in not only her career but also in raising her two boys Massai Zhivago Dorsey II and Kez Sunday Udoka.

Nia Long openly admitted the struggles of balancing work, parenting and dating in an Essence article on October 27, 2020.

“I’m not a movie star mom who’s got a private chef, a nanny and a driver.”
~Nia Talita Long, 2020.

Nia is also known for her interesting ideologies. One of which is her long-standing decision to not get married. She had her first son with Massai Z. Dorsey in 2000 but they never got married.

She later started dating the Boston Celtic head coach Ime Udoka in 2010 and has long since been in a relationship with him. They got engaged in 2015 and are together to date, even though Long has no intentions of getting married.

Both parties appear very satisfied with the relationship and have long since been blessed with a son Kez Sunday Udoka, who was born in 2011. Nia says she’s very happy and satisfied with her relationship as is because she believes she doesn’t need to say “I do” to prove the sincerity of her love for someone.

When she’s not busy with work, she loves spending alone time with her little men and it is obvious how much her boys adore her. The earlier mentioned Essence article also features a love letter Massai wrote to his mom. He said:

“You are loving, and are always there for me and my little brother…You have taught me to have a voice and fear nothing but the Lord.”

Long sees parenting as a full-time job but she is proud to be a solo mom and pushes herself forward with her long-time mantra, “You created this, you can handle it.”

Nia Long has accrued various awards in the lifespan of her career. It’s no question that the celebrity has made a name for herself in the movie industry.

Some of her accolades include:

Star of the Year (2000) – American Black Film Festival Awards
Best Actress (2014) for The Best Man Holiday – American Black Film Festival Awards
Best Ensemble Cast (2014) for The Best Man Holiday – American Black Film Festival Awards
Outstanding Actress (2000) for The Best Man – BET Comedy Awards
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (2000) for The Best Man – NAACP Image Awards
Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series (2004 & 2005) for Third Watch – NAACP Image Awards

The Single Moms Club star is very open and proud of her work and parenting values.

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3. Mariah Carey

You know it’s Christmas when Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas starts filling the streets with jolly cheer. The singer, songwriter, music producer and actress is well known globally for her exceptional voice, her octave vocal range and her whistle register. She also is the first artist to have her first five singles top the Billboard Hot 100.

Mariah is proof that whether you have a husband or not, you can be a stellar career woman and an exceptional mom. Carey previously divorced American music executive Tommy Mottola in 2000 because she felt caged in the marriage and she claimed he was controlling.

Mariah is the mom to her fraternal twins, Moroccan and Monroe Cannon. She gave birth to them on April 30, 2011, while she was married to popular comedian Nick Cannon. She had gotten married to Nick exactly three years before (April 30, 2008) but the marriage only lasted for eight years.

Mariah has long since been caring for her children as a single mother even though she dated Australian billionaire James Packer for a year (2015) and then settled with Bryan Tanaka. There was a brief separation with the latter but they soon got back together and have been growing strong ever since.

In September 2020, Mariah talked about how much her children meant to her during an Apple TV+ special. She noted how “they help to heal me every day”, and “every time we have a moment that feels real and authentic and genuine, it’s them loving me unconditionally.” She testified they were her first taste of what unconditional, familial love felt like.

Over the years, the Always Be My Baby star has received many accolades in her fields of music and acting. She is globally celebrated as one of the best singer-songwriters of her generation.

She is also recognized as one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She has recorded sales of over 220 million records worldwide with nineteen of her songs topping the Billboard Hot 100. Mariah Carey is the highest-certified female artist in the U.S. with 69.5 million certified album units.

Not to mention that she was named “top-charting female solo artist” by Billboard based on both her album and song chart performances. In 2019, she was also ranked second on VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music.

Some of her other awards include:

Five Grammy Awards
Nineteen World Music Awards
Ten American Music Awards
Fifteen Billboard Music Awards
Induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Indeed, Mariah is a stellar example of femininity and motherhood.

Conclusion

Society always tries to streamline women into choosing between mothering and pursuing their careers. They criticize mothers that try to pursue their dreams but these women didn’t give up. They chose to pursue their dreams and take care of their kids.

I hope these women inspired you to go for success too. You’re not too young nor too old to go for gold, because you are gold!