Where is Kiami Davael now? Age, Parents, Net Worth – Bio

Kiami Davael is an American actress, who gained fame when she was only 10 years old, appearing opposite Mara Wilson in the popular kids fantasy movie “Matilda”. After the movie’s success, Kiami had plenty of offers from other directors.

Early life and family

Kiami Davael Daugherty was born on 21 August 1986, in Boyle County, Kentucky USA, so her zodiac sign is Leo and she holds American nationality. Kiami is the oldest daughter to her parents, having a younger sister Kristina Desiree Coffman and a younger brother Jalen Daugherty. Kiami’s father passed away in 2013, and since 21 December 2018 Kiami’s mother has been battling cancer – as of 2020, she is in remission, but Kiami is still her carer.

In May 2019 Kiami shared on her Instagram account that her life has changed a lot since her mother started fighting against cancer, that her life would never be the same, and never thought that life could be so hard. When Kiami was around three years old, she started taking dancing and singing classes, as she was very interested in performing. Her family later moved to California so that she could pursue her acting career, as her parents always supported her in all her endeavors. As of 2020, Kiami lives in Burbank, California.

Educational background

Kiami matriculated from her local high school in 2004, then enrolled at the University of Kentucky, graduating in 2008 with a BA in Psychology with a minor in theatre. She is still a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

Career

Modelling career

Kiami once mentioned that she started her modelling career even before she became famous for her role of Lavender in “Matilda”, attending various modeling conventions in Los Angeles and New York. She found her manager with the help of her mom, who accompanied her young daughter around the US searching for jobs for her. It was also the time when Kiami started to perform on the stage as a singer, but Kiami quit her modelling career to pursue her dream of becoming an actress.

Acting career, Kiami’s first role in “Matilda”

Kiami started her acting career with the movie that luckily for her was very popular around the world. The kids fantasy comedy “Matilda”, starring Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman, was launched in 1996, and instantly became a hit. Kiami was invited to portray Matilda’s best friend, Lavender Brown.

Kiami was only eight when she was picked up by Danny DeVito himself, even though the script has Lavender as a white girl; however, Danny chose Kiami to perform the part: ‘To be honest with you, the role was actually not for someone who looked like me. And for him to actually pick me and go against the grain, that was definitely all God’, Kiami once shared in her interview with Madame Noire magazine in 2017. The movie was filmed for four months, and Kiami turned nine when she was still on the set, celebrating the date with her new friends from the cast. The movie was a major success – Danny DeVito reunited all the actors from “Matilda” in 2017 for a tea party and to re-play some of the most favorite scenes of the film. Since that year, Mara Wilson and Kiami Davael became close friends again, as they had been on the set.

Further acting career

After her successful appearance in “Matilda”, Kiami had another role the next year, portraying Simone Bien Aime in the episode entitled “Keys” in the TV series “The Pretender” in 1997. She also played Keeta in another TV series, “Conan”, starring Ralf Moeller and Danny Woodburn in 1998. The same year she landed the role of Lucy in the TV drama series “Promised Land”, appearing in the episode “Baptism of Fire”. In 1999 Kiami played Anna in the “Moesha” TV series, and could be seen in the episode “The Crush”, and by the end of the year was cast in her first recurring role, of Brianna Bridgeforth in the series “In the House”; she appeared in four episodes, including “There’s Something About Tiffany”, “Cornbread, Marion and Me” and “Out the House”.

Kiami landed two more roles in 1999, the part of Christina in the episode “My Two Big Daddies” of the popular TV program “The Steve Harvey Show”, and as Tiffany in the episode “Online Romance” of the prime time hit “Grown Ups”. Her latest acting work was the role of Shawniqua in “Bruno” (2000), the story about the unique guys who turned out to be a genius.

In 2012 Kiami made an attempt to produce her own movie, and even wrote the script to the short drama “Reckless”, starring Shayla Love and Jasmine Burke.

Kiami is a devoted Christian, and the story of the girl who had a dark past and experienced even a darker present, who eventually decided to change her life for the best in the name of higher powers, was very important for Kiami personally. However, her producing career hasn’t developed since then.

Singing career

In her interview with Madame Noire magazine in 2017, Kiami shared that she was working on her first EP, doing almost all the work by herself, from writing the lyrics and music to executive producing. The genre she chose to perform in was R&B: ‘I like music that tells a story and has a message, that’s positive and uplifting. It’s feel-good music with an R&B twist to it’, she reflects in her interview, also saying that she’d worked hard to make her voice stronger.

Massively impressed and inspired by Whitney Houston, Kiami understood she had only one path in her life – to become just like her role model, so to sing, dance and act. Kiami was supported by her mother: ‘I told my mother, at three years old, ‘I want to be Whitney Houston. I’m going to be here,’ and I remember my mother told me, ‘You can’t be Whitney, but you can be the best Kiami that you can be’.

Personal life

Kiami has always been very secretive about everything related to her private life. Thus, no information is available about any former or current boyfriends. Kiami has no kids.

Hobbies, favorite things and interesting facts

Kiami went vegan in 2019, based on her desire to save the lives of the animals and to influence the environmental situation on the planet. Her favorite singers are Whitney Houston and Toni Braxton. She is a friend of another popular singer, Traci Braxton. In February 2018, Kiami hosted the Annual Black Heritage Banquet in Baylor University, located in Waco, Texas. A lot of young girls choose Kaimi’s character, Lavender, as their Halloween image. Kiami admits that it makes her very proud of her work and the whole movie in general, as it has such a great impact on the younger generation. She often shares the photos of those girls who dress up like Lavender Brown.

Appearance, clothing style

Kiami has long naturally curly dark brown hair and dark brown eyes; unlike her on-screen character Lavender Brown, Kiami doesn’t wear glasses. She is 5ft (1.52m) tall and weighs around 127lbs (57kgs); her vital statistics are unavailable at the moment. As to her clothing style; she likes wearing sporty and comfortable clothes, in her favorite color pink. Kiami has a tattoo on her left wrist which says: ‘Je suis’ (‘I am’ in French), ‘…the most powerful manifestation declaration one can ever speak over their life. I will now be constantly reminded of all that I AM … and accept all that I’m not’, Kiami wrote on her Instagram right after getting her tattoo done.

Net worth and salary

As of 2020, Kiami’s net worth is reported to be around $100,000.

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