Skai Jackson’s Parents: Her Mother Shaped Her Career from an Early Age

Skai Jackson is best known for appearing on the Disney Channel’s sitcom “Jessie.” Her mother shaped her career, while her father has remained a mystery even though she has posted several pictures of him on social media.

Most people know Skai Jackson from “Jessie,” while others know her best for appearing on Season 29 of “Dancing with the Stars.” But even most of her fans don’t see that she was raised by a single mother, Kiya Cole, who did what she could to support her child star daughter.

Like most mothers, Kiya Cole has publicly defended her daughter from bullying allegations. Meanwhile, her father, Jacob Jackson, stays away from the limelight.

Skai was raised by Kiya Cole, who helped her start a career in the entertainment industry when she was just a baby. In a 2017 interview, the single mom said:

“I was told by a couple of people that she was a cute baby. I had a job at the post office at the time. I decided to give it a shot, and I sent her pictures into two modeling agencies that took babies. Two weeks later, they both called on the same day. I had to choose one, and she’s been working ever since.”

Furthermore, she has never doubted her choice to put her daughter on this path because, at the time, she was only thinking about her daughter possibly earning enough to attend university. Skai had several jobs in New York until she landed the part in “Jessie,” co-starring the late Cameron Boyce, and they moved to Los Angeles.

Understanding the industry, Kiya has always been in the loop concerning her daughter’s public image and has made a safe space for Skai to talk to her about anything. When Skai tweeted something about Azealia Banks, she immediately told her mom, who knew it would get her in trouble.

At first, Kiya didn’t want her daughter to keep responding, but Azealia said some terrible things to Skai, so the single mother told her to respond. However, it was a one-time thing. Kiya said:

“[Afterwards], I told her, ‘Never again.’ Let that be a learning lesson. Thankfully, it worked out better in Skai’s favor than it did for Azealia, but that’s few and far between that a situation that works out like that.”

The online issue with Azealia Banks was not the only feud Kiya and Skai have had. The young actress got into a scuffle with Bhad Bhadie in 2020, which made their moms step in.

Things got heated when Bhad did an Instagram live and reportedly threw shade at a Disney star, not mentioning Skai, but fans believed the implication was clear.

Bhad Bhadie’s insults got so bad that her mother, Barbara Bregoli, began to share screenshots of her text messages with Kiya, including tons of colorful language.

But Kiya eventually realized they wouldn’t get anywhere, so she stepped back and tried to ignore it and save her energy for matters like Skai being accused of bullying Jodie Woods, Jordyn’s Woods sister.

The “Dancing with the Stars” contestant immediately denied the allegations, but TikToker Mia J posted several videos as “proof” of Jodie’s lousy treatment. Once again, it was allegedly all due to a man, Julez Smith, Beyonce Knowles Carter’s nephew.

Kiya took to Instagram to defend Skai, saying they had known the Woods family for a while and never heard her daughter say a bad word to Jodie. Eventually, the claims were disproven.

Despite her fame and trouble with people online, Skai remains a happy child who shares pictures of her family on social media often. She has shared several photos of her mysterious dad, a private person, for Father’s Day.

Not much is known about them, except that he divorced Kiya long ago. Meanwhile, she also posts about her mother, particularly on Mother’s Day. And Kiya loves posting about Skai as well.