Tiffany Haddish is opening up about her childhood past.
Today, fans know Haddish for her extremely varied film and television work. From her breakout role in "Girls Trip," the mystery comedy series “The Afterparty,” to mixing it up with Nicolas Cage in his latest film, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” and winning a 2021 Grammy for Best Comedy Album, the actress has shown incredible range.
But Haddish remembers a time when life wasn’t so successful, the years she grew up in foster care.
As she sat for a keynote conversation at the Variety Changemakers Summit this week, the 42-year-old reflected on the tough times she had going through the foster care system.
"When I was in foster care, I mean, I thought I was going to die there," Haddish said. "I didn’t think I would make it to 18. And when I made it to 18, I was like, 'OK, I got to really think bigger.' And I did think bigger, and I’m definitely where I thought I would be. Well, it’s bigger than what I thought, but I feel the way that I was hoping I would feel, and that’s secure in my ability to provide for me."
Related
If you detect a serviceable sense of humility in Haddish’s comment, it’s because she didn’t always feel so secure.
"When I was a kid and I was moving around, all my stuff had to be in trash bags," she recalled, "and moving like that is not good for the self-esteem because it makes you feel like garbage that can easily be transported to here or there. You start thinking of yourself as such, as garbage.”
As Entertainment Tonight reported, Haddish has since "wanted to take away the feeling of feeling like garbage from kids." She not only doesn’t try to forget those tough times, but uses them for inspiration via her She Ready Foundation that pairs foster kids with internship programs.
Related
“That was the worst feeling in the world personally,” said Haddish, “and I told myself, if I ever get any power, I’m going to try to make sure kids don’t feel like that. If I can reach out, I’m going to try to change that feeling for them. So I started my foundation, and we started with just giving out suitcases."
As listed on their site, the She Ready Foundation aims to “provide suitcases to children in foster care; establish work ethics within foster children to accomplish short and long-term goals; and provide resources for foster children and adults that age out.”
Haddish will next be seen on the big screen in the comedy "Easter Sunday," which is set to hit theaters on August 5, 2022.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign up and follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram