Jasika Nicole struggled with the fact she was not only biracial but gay as well, and it took her a long time to come to terms with that reality. Today she does not mind showing off her wife, Claire, although her father was not happy that his daughter was gay; they did not speak for nine months after she told him. Still, that has not stopped Jasika from being the outstanding actress she is, and by 2010, she was the only openly lesbian actor of color on prime television. Learn more about her personal and professional life through these facts.
1. She never dreamed of having a wedding
As a child, Jasika never dreamed of walking down the aisle with anyone, and when she realized that she was a lesbian, it became apparent to her that she might never have to since the government did not allow same-sex marriages. The fact that her parents never got married also fueled her dislike for weddings, yet people never understood why she used her mother’s surname instead of her father’s.
2. Why she chose to get a domestic partnership
After being with Claire for at least three years, Jasika felt it was time they made everything legal since a domestic partnership had some repercussions. She was not interested in being religious since no church would even allow them to wed. Instead, the fact they could jointly own property, raise a family together, and get insurance coverage, among other benefits that married couples get made her want to legalize their relationship. Jasika, therefore, insists that she did not want a wedding; hence they exchanged simple wedding rings over dinner at their favorite restaurant.
3. Her dog attended her wedding
Jasika’s first “wedding” was in New York City, but after moving to California, she had to do another wedding because the first one meant nothing outside of New York City. Therefore even their will could not be executed until they were legally partners in California; hence Jasika and Claire decided to do it once and for all. This time they splurged a little on their rings with Jasika going for a rose gold while Claire went for white gold. The wedding pictures that included their fur baby, Rosie, were taken in the front lawn of their house as Jasika wrote on her blog.
4. What helped her get through her brother’s illness?
Jasika’s brother, Nick, celebrated father’s day in ICU; he had been diagnosed with pancreatitis and had surgery. Therefore since Jasika is not prayerful, she found solace in the present she had bought Nick for Father’s day: a leather wallet. Instead of imagining, he would never get a chance to see it, the actress thought about the joy Nick would have on his face when he got to open his new wallet.
5. She took a long time to accept she was gay
For a long time, Jasika was not sure that she was a lesbian hence did not bother telling anyone. However, before going out on her first date with a girl, she told her mother, who was okay with it. After the date, Jasika felt happy being with a girl, and it dawned on her that she was indeed a lesbian hence came out to her family and friends. After being with Claire, Jasika came out to the rest of the world through an interview with the New York Times.
6. She loves sewing
Imagine being able to make your own clothes and reupholster your furniture for the fun of it. Jasika does that, and she enjoys it because, unlike her acting career, sewing and embroidering allow her to be in control of her life. She explained to The Advocate as an actress, she is a pawn in other’s people’s dreams; hence she needs a creative outlet where she gets to have a lot of power. Therefore 90% of her clothing is what she has made herself, and whenever she is filming, she packs her sewing kit to keep her occupied between filming days.
7. How she became a seamstress
While in college, Jasika was an art minor, and since she did not want to take up lights or sound, she thought design class was the better option. She ended up not loving the designing part but got hooked to construction and has not looked back since then. The actress became obsessed with sewing so much that she decided she would not be wearing ready-to-wear clothes anymore but would instead be making her own. She had already bought a sewing machine, and after a few years, her love for fashion led her to be interested in making her shoes as well.
8. Her favorite movies
Jasika loves horror movies, which helped in her character on “Fringe” since cutting a brain was not that something that grossed her out. Her all-time favorite film remains to be “A Nightmare on Elm Street;” she watched it as a child, and although it was scary, it did not result in her having nightmares. However, “Let The Right One In” is her favorite horror movie, and she fell in love with the special effects utilized in its production.
9. She has an autistic sister
On “Fringe,” Jasika plays Astrid, who has Asperger’s and is autistic, and although the writers did not know it, Jasika’s sister is autistic as well. That came in handy because Jasika was able to relate to what she sees in her sister. For instance, as she revealed to Assignment X, her sister does not look someone in the eye when communicating and does not communicate well verbally. The actress felt that being Astrid was a chance to let people know that autism may be more prevalent than they realize. Her excitement was, however, because she felt a connection with the character through the insight she had about the condition.
10. She had a hard time in her childhood due to being biracial
Jasika’s mother lived in a predominantly white neighborhood while her father lived in a mostly black community. Consequently, whenever she visited them, she had to act accordingly by going as far as wearing different shoes; in her mother’s place, she would wear Keds while in her father’s house, the actress wore K-Swiss. It is when she moved to New York City after graduating from college that Jasika realized there were so many other biracial people.
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