Dwight Howard Family: Wife And Children

Dwight Howard grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, with his athletic parents and siblings. Growing up, it was quite tough for them, and his mom and dad had two to three jobs.

Dwight and his brother used to clean buildings in the area to earn extra money. As their parents worked all day, the siblings used to play basketball inside their house the whole day. They made a basket out of shirt hangers and a fishing net, as per DNA.

He and his parents established the Dwight D. Howard Foundation Inc in 2004. It worked with youths to encourage a desire for excellence in every aspect of their lives.

Dwight used to have over 50 snakes in his house. In a 2021 interview with GQ, he stated that he now has about 13. He even appeared in Animal Planet’s reality TV series Tanked two times.

Dwight has a rose garden in his house and was inspired to have one after visiting a friend’s house. He has over 12 different types of roses and loves the sweet-smelling ones.

Dwight Howard wife name is Te’a Cooper. Dwight and Cooper were able to keep their relationship and marriage a secret for a while.

The couple got engaged in 2019 and had a secret marriage ceremony in November 2020.

Te’a Cooper

Te’a Cooper is a free-agent point guard in the WNBA. She got drafted as the 18th pick in round 2 of the 2020 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury. She was later transferred to the Los Angeles Sparks and played in the 2020 and 2021 WNBA seasons.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, her parents are Omar and Kindall Cooper. She grew up with three siblings, Mia, Sharife, and Omar, in Georgia. Te’a went to McEachern High School and won three Georgia 6A State titles.

Cooper played at three different colleges: Tennessee from 2015 to 2017, South Carolina from 2017 to 2019, and Baylor from 2019 to 2020.

The athlete also has her own business, Hollywood Luxury Hair, which offers 100% authentic raw natural Burmese and Cambodian Hair.

Dwight And Te’a Relationship

The two began posting each other on social media in 2019. In August of that year, Dwight posted a photo of him hugging Te’a, and she had a massive diamond ring on her finger. He captioned the now-deleted post as “Mine.”

When Dwight won his first championship with the Lakers, Te’a was one of the few people there. She was dressed in a Gucci shirt, a Gucci belt bag, some denim shorts, and black boots.

Howard And Te’a Cooper Are No Longer Together

However, when someone asked Te’a about her Dwight in an Instagram live video in April 2021, she confirmed that the two are no longer together. 

As per Yardbarker, she told her followers she no longer goes out with him and is not with him anymore. She asked them to leave it alone. Dwight and Cooper no longer follow each other on social media.

Te’a Cooper is currently dating Alvin Kamara, the running back for New Orleans Saints. She even posted a sweet message on Instagram for his birthday in July 2022.

Dwight Howard is a father to five children and has five different baby mamas. He was 22 years old and was playing with the Orlando Magic when his first child was born in 2007. Howard welcomed his youngest child in 2013.

Howard’s kids are Braylor, Jayde, Layla, David, and Trey, and his baby mothers are Royce Reed, Christine Vest, Hope Alexa, Tiffany Render, and Melissa Rios.

Braylon Howard Is The Oldest

Braylon Howard is Dwight and Royce Reed’s son. He was born on November 18, 2007, and is currently 15 years old.

Dwight posted a series of Braylon’s pictures for his 12th birthday on Instagram. He mentioned that his oldest son is a joy to everyone, especially him.

Who Is Braylon Howard Mother Royce Reed?

Royce Reed is an American actress and reality TV personality who appeared on the VH1 reality series Basketball Wives from 2010 to 2013.

Royce is 42 years old, as she was born on June 22, 1980. She went to Dr. Phillips High School and has a degree in Theatre Education from Florida A&M University.

She worked as a dancer for the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat basketball teams. Reed also appeared in Inside Edition and First Lady.

Layla Howard Is His First Daughter

Layla Howard is Dwight’s second child and first daughter. She was born in October 2010 and is currently 12 years old. Her mother is Tiffiny Render.

Tiffiny sued Dwight in 2015. They had a private deal in 2013, where he was required to pay her $10k per month in child support. TMZ Sports obtained the lawsuit, which mentioned that Dwight had not lived up to his end of the deal and had only paid her half of whatever he owed.

Jayde Howard Is The Third Baby

Jayde Howard is the daughter of Howard and Hope Alexa. She was born in December 2010, and he now 12 years old.

Hope is a fitness model and competitor from Vancouver, Canada.

Trey Howard Is The Fourth Child

Trey was born on June 13, 2013, and is Dwight’s fourth child. His mom is Christine Vest.

Who Is Christine Vest?

Vest is a former basketball player and a gospel singer. She was born on December 28, 1987, in Woodland Hills to Carmen and Frank Miller.

She graduated from Chaminade College Prep School in West Hills and was an NCSA Preseason All-American as a senior. She went to California State University and played for the Chico Wildcats as a forward.

Growing up, she sang in the choir at Calvary Baptist Church. She also sang the National Anthem at her college’s sporting events.

David Howard Is The Youngest Baby

David was born to Dwight and Melissa Rios on December 15, 2013. He currently lives with his dad and frequently appears on his Instagram account.

Melissa sadly passed in 2020 because of an epileptic seizure. David has opened up about the year 2020 being the worst year for then 6-year-old David’s life, as per Republic World.

Howard was born to parents Sheryl and Dwight Sr. on December 8, 1985. They were both athletes in college.

Sheryl and Dwight Sr. run a Christian-based nonprofit that offers after-school mentoring and counseling. The foundation mainly helps in enriching the lives of young people through mentoring. They also have sports training, basketball and track.

His Father Dwight Howard Sr

Dwight Sr works at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, a private academy with one of the best high school basketball programs in the country, as an athletic director. He is also a Georgia State Trooper.

He grew up in a small town in South Georgia and did not have much opportunity to have people train him, even though he loved the game.

While talking with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dwight Sr mentioned that basketball is more than a game. He stated that it is a platform one uses to draw a physical body, but they minster to a kid to get their spiritual body.

When asked what it is like to have a son playing in the NBA, he replied that it is a blessing to see your child seek out his dreams at such an early age and be able to fulfill them.

Dwight Sr celebrates his birthday on January 16, and his son wishes him on Instagram. In 2021, Howard thanked his dad for always being present and motivating him to be the best man he could be.

Howard Mother Sheryl Howard

Sheryl is a former basketball player who played on the inaugural women’s basketball team at Morris Brown College.

She calls Dwight a “Miracle Baby” because she had seven miscarriages before he was born, as per The Los Angeles Times.

She celebrated her 66th birthday on November 29, 2022. Dwight wished her on his Instagram with pictures and a sweet message and thanked her for all the love she had given him.

Sheryl is active on Instagram under the username @aka20pearls76. Her private account has 140 followers and 205 posts so far.

Dwight Howard has two younger siblings, a sister TaShanda, and a brother Jahaziel.

Dwight Sister TaShanda Howard

TaShanda defended her brother when the Hawks suddenly traded Dwight to the Hornets in 2017. As per the New York Post, she argued that Hawks would have a difficult time drawing top talent after the surprising exit.

TaShanda has an active Instagram page with 3.7k followers and over 1.4k posts. Her bio states that she is a mother, coach, mentor, educator, skater, and human who is living life to the fullest.

His Brother Jahaziel Howard Also Played Basketball

Jahaziel played basketball for Oral Roberts University and the University of Central Florida. He graduated from Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. He initially joined Oral Roberts but later transferred to UCF.

Howard did not pursue a career in professional basketball. He is now traveling all over the world and even shared pictures on his Instagram account.

Jahaziel celebrated his 30th birthday in January 2019. His sister TaShanda wished him on his birthday through Instagram.