Karrueche Tran has been circulating in the news lately for being the first lead actress of the AAPI community to win an Emmy. Her Emmy was for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Daytime Fiction Program in Popstar! TV's The Bay. Because of this, her stock is going up and she has crossed over into the land of being taken seriously as an actress, regardless of how she may have arrived on the scene. And with more accolades, comes more personal life details coming to the surface, details that we may have all missed in the past.
In fact, one major life detail that Karrueche has revealed is that her father is gay.
Her father, who is Jamaican-American, is one of her biggest supporters, as she is of his. The admission took place during promo for her popular TNT series, Claws. While discussing her life apart from being Chris Brown's ex-girlfriend with MadameNoire, she revealed:
"I don't think I've ever told anyone this, but my father is gay. I don't think I've ever told anyone this because I don't realize that that is not necessarily normal, you know? I live my life as me and it's like, 'oh, that's just my dad.' But when I tell people sometimes, they're like, 'really?!' And he's not [transitioning like Caitlyn Jenner], but he is homosexual, he is gay."
She adds:
"I knew from like middle school. Even in elementary school, I knew something was different. And I don't know how I knew or how I even knew what gay was being so young, but I think when you're younger, you catch onto things and you watch TV, so I've always kind of known. As I grew older, we had certain talks, or I talked with my mom, and it just is what it was."
This made me wonder, who else has grown up with a parent that is of the LGBTQ community?
Well, most famously, there's Jay-Z:
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Shawn Carter Foundation
Gloria Carter, Jay's mother, came out in 2017 after sharing this news with her son. Jay was very happy for her and even confessed that he cried once he realized she felt had to hide it for so long. Later on, he dedicated a song to her called "Smile" on his 4:44. album, that he recorded one day after his mother came out to him. He said on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman:
"Imagine having to live your life as someone else and you think you're protecting your kids. And for my mother to have to live as someone that she wasn't … [she] didn't want to embarrass her kids for all this time. And for her to sit in front of me and say, 'I think I love someone…' I mean, I really cried. That's a real story."
50 Cent, who's mother was lesbian:
50 Cent was raised by his mother, who, according to the rapper, was a lesbian. She died when he was only 8 years old, at which point, 50 Cent went to live with his grandparents. The rapper wrote a book called Playground about his childhood and his relationship with his mother.
Dorothy Dandridge has a story of her own:
Actress Dorothy Dandridge's mother, Ruby Dandridge, was bisexual. Ruby reportedly began dating her partner, Geneva Williams, after divorcing Dorothy's father.
...and allegedly so did Marvin Gaye:
As a kid, the future Motown Legend was often teased about his father, Marvin Gay Sr. who was rumored to be homosexual. When asked if the rumor was true, Alberta Gay admitted she wasn't sure about her former husband's sexual orientation. "He liked to wear my panties, my shoes, my gowns, even my nylon hose," she has said. Marvin Jr. went on to add the 'e' to his last name and during a performance on Midnight Special in 1974, his father showed up in drag. Ten years later, he shot and killed Gaye during an argument.
Like Marvin, O.J. Simpson's father enjoyed dressing in drag:
O.J. Simpson's father, Jimmy Lee Simpson, was a drag queen in San Francisco. He died of AIDS-related complications in 1986.
And finally, Rebecca Walker, who's mother is a major part of the culture:
Author Rebecca Walker's mother, The Color Purple author Alice Walker, is openly gay. She once had a relationship with Tracey Chapman. Rebecca herself is openly bisexual.
Karrueche hasn't disclosed much else about her father since, but she did leave us with a few gems for us to sit on:
"God creates us how he wants to create us and you have to be accepting of people and how they want to be and if that's their choice of their vision then if you love them you got to support them. Love, as we know now that gay marriage. You can marry anybody, love conquers all."
Watch the full interview below:
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Featured image by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Spotify
RELATED
So, we handpicked one hundred It Girls who embody that palpable It Factor moving through us as young Black women, the kind of motion lighting up the world both IRL and across the internet.
It Girl 100 became xoNecole’s most successful program, with the hashtag organically reaching more than forty million impressions on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Yes, it caught on like wildfire because we celebrated some of the most brilliant and influential GenZennial women of color setting trends and shaping culture. But more than that, it resonated because the women we celebrated felt seen.
Many were already known in their industries for keeping this generation fly and lit, but rarely received recognition or flowers. It Girl 100 became a safe space to be uplifted, and for us as Black women to bask in what felt like an era of our brilliance, beauty, and boundless influence on full display.
And then, almost overnight, it was as if the rug was pulled from under us as Black women, as the It Girls of the world.
Our much-needed, much-deserved season of ease and soft living quickly metamorphosed into a time of self-preservation and survival. Our motion and economic progression seemed strategically slowed, our light under siege.
The air feels heavier now. The headlines colder. Our Black girl magic is being picked apart and politicized for simply existing.
With that climate shift, as we prepare to launch our second annual It Girl 100 honoree list, our team has had to dig deep on the purpose and intention behind this year’s list. Knowing the spirit of It Girl 100 is about motion, sauce, strides, and progression, how do we celebrate amid uncertainty and collective grief when the juice feels like it is being squeezed out of us?
As we wrestled with that question, we were reminded that this tension isn’t new. Black women have always had to find joy in the midst of struggle, to create light even in the darkest corners. We have carried the weight of scrutiny for generations, expected to be strong, to serve, to smile through the sting. But this moment feels different. It feels deeply personal.
We are living at the intersection of liberation and backlash. We are learning to take off our capes, to say no when we are tired, to embrace softness without apology.
And somehow, the world has found new ways to punish us for it.
In lifestyle, women like Kayla Nicole and Ayesha Curry have been ridiculed for daring to choose themselves. Tracee Ellis Ross was labeled bitter for speaking her truth about love. Meghan Markle, still, cannot breathe without critique.
In politics, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Jasmine Crockett are dragged through the mud for standing tall in rooms not built for them.
In sports, Angel Reese, Coco Gauff, and Taylor Townsend have been reminded that even excellence will not shield you from racism or judgment.
In business, visionaries like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye and Melissa Butler are fighting to keep their dreams alive in an economy that too often forgets us first.
Even our icons, Beyoncé, Serena, and SZA, have faced criticism simply for evolving beyond the boxes society tried to keep them in.
From everyday women to cultural phenoms, the pattern is the same. Our light is being tested.
And yet, somehow, through it all, we are still showing up as that girl, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Because while the world debates our worth, we keep raising our value. And that proof is all around us.
This year alone, Naomi Osaka returned from motherhood and mental health challenges to reach the semifinals of the US Open. A’ja Wilson claimed another MVP, reminding us that beauty and dominance can coexist. Brandy and Monica are snatching our edges on tour. Kahlana Barfield Brown sold out her new line in the face of a retailer that had been canceled. And Melissa Butler’s company, The Lip Bar, is projecting a forty percent surge in sales.
We are no longer defining strength by how much pain we can endure. We are defining it by the unbreakable light we continue to radiate.
We are the women walking our daily steps and also continuing to run solid businesses. We are growing in love, taking solo trips, laughing until it hurts, raising babies and ideas, drinking our green juice, and praying our peace back into existence.
We are rediscovering the joy of rest and realizing that softness is not weakness, it is strategy.
And through it all, we continue to lift one another. Emma Grede is creating seats at the table. Valeisha Butterfield has started a fund for jobless Black women. Arian Simone is leading in media with fearless conviction. We are pouring into each other in ways the world rarely sees but always feels.
So yes, we are in the midst of societal warfare. Yes, we are being tested. Yes, we are facing economic strain, political targeting, and public scrutiny. But even war cannot dim a light that is divinely ours.
And we are still shining.
And we are still softening.
And we are still creating.
And we are still It.
That is the quiet magic of Black womanhood, our ability to hold both truth and triumph in the same breath, to say yes, and to life’s contradictions.
It is no coincidence that this year, as SheaMoisture embraces the message “Yes, And,” they stand beside us as partners in celebrating this class of It Girls. Because that phrase, those two simple words, capture the very essence of this moment.
Yes, we are tired. And we are still rising.
Yes, we are questioned. And we are the answer.
Yes, we are bruised. And we are still beautiful.
This year’s It Girl 100 is more than a list. It is a love letter to every Black woman who dares to live out loud in a world that would rather she whisper. This year’s class is living proof of “Yes, And,” women who are finding ways to thrive and to heal, to build and to rest, to lead and to love, all at once.
It is proof that our joy is not naive, our success not accidental. It is the reminder that our light has never needed permission.
So without further ado, we celebrate the It Girl 100 Class of 2025–2026.
We celebrate the millions of us who keep doing it with grace, grit, and glory.
Because despite it all, we still shine.
Because we are still her.
Because we are still IT, girl.
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list of honorees here.
Featured image by xoStaff
"They asked for body products and we wanted to make sure we listened. But also layering fragrance begins with the body routine." The body wash is $33, and the body lotion is $35. Keep reading below to hear more about Tabitha and Chance's new collection, their body rituals, and what makes their partnership successful.
Fridays with Tab and Chance body collection
Marcus Owens
xoNecole: How did you come up with the scents for the collection?
Tabitha Brown: We love warm scents that make you feel sexy and loved. [We’re] both fans of gourmand [scents], including bergamot, vanilla, tonka and chocolate.
xoN: If you could describe your working relationship in one word, what would it be and why?
Tabitha: It's our first time building a product line together and our first time working with fragrance. So having patience with the process and each other has been the best way to build.
xoN: What is your body care ritual?
Tabitha: Exfoliate with a scrub a few times a week, but using a moisturizing body wash daily. After a shower, I spray a body mist that compliments what scent I am choosing for the day. Most times vanilla mist wins because it’s a perfect base for layering. I then hydrate [my] skin with lotion. Then, once dressed, I layer my favorite fragrance, Her Business, first and then His Business on top.
Chance: [I’m] way more simple. Just body wash and lotion and then my cologne and I’m good to go.
xoN: We enjoy watching you two together online, whose idea was it to start 'Fridays with Tab & Chance'?
Tabitha: It actually happened by accident. Back in 2018, my fans had just been asking about how we met, so we did a video answering questions one Friday and people in the comments [asked], will y’all do it again next Friday? And so we did and the next thing you know Fridays with Tab & Chance was born.
xoN: In what other ways do you plan to expand Fridays? Restart the podcast? TV show?
Tabitha: We are working on a lifestyle content show vs the traditional Fridays podcast. More to come soon.
xoN: You do many things together, but what would you say is your favorite quality time activity and why?
Tabitha: We are really simple. We love watching movies or TV series together on the couch or in bed. It’s really one of our favorite things to do together.
xoN: What is your favorite thing about the other person?
Tabitha: I love that he makes me feel safe and how hard he works to be an amazing father.
Chance: I love that she is crazy enough to pursue her wildest dreams.
xoN: What is the key to a successful partnership in business and personal?
Tabitha: The key is knowing that you both are going to change, and giving each other grace, patience, and understanding during those changes.
See more on tabandchance.com.
Feature image Marcus Owens