Marsai Martin Covers Essence's First-Ever 'Girls United' Digital Magazine

Source: Earl Gibson III / Getty

“I’m always myself,” said Marsai Martin. “I’m in the space I’m in right now because I was just always unapologetically myself.”

Essence launched a new digital magazine, Girls United, and the 16-year-old is the first to grace the cover of the digital publication. In a post to Instagram, the Black-ish star wrote, “I’m excited to finally show you all the FIRST EVER cover of Essence’s new digital magazine Girls United!”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGnB5PBHkfT/

Martin spoke on what it’s like to be young and black in the entertainment industry. Days before the shoot, she said that “It really sucks to say, but people are just now starting to understand that we as Black people have very creative minds and we won’t stop until we get there.”

This mindset followed her when the 2019 comedy Little was just an idea. The Texas native recalls sharing the proposal in front of other executives. What sounds intimidating to the majority of people was no feat for the youngest executive producer to film a Hollywood movie. For Martin, she felt right at home.

“Honestly, when I pitched the film, I thought about it as a whole bunch of dudes sitting around a table talking about our projects and what we have in our heads.” She then stated that “Math equations scare me a lot more than public speaking.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGnIe92HTw1/

She has been working on her second film, StepMonster, which focuses on a teenage girl (Martin) who goes out of their way to try and break up the union between her father and her new stepmother. Production halted earlier this year as a result of the pandemic but has given Martin and her team extra time to reassure that the movie is perfect.