Whether you were introduced to her as New New in 2006’s ATL or Kiera Whitaker in The Game, Lauren London‘s charm, beauty and overall demeanor likely made you an instant fan the minute she stepped onto the screen. The Los Angeles native isn’t always booked and busy as some might say, but every role or project she takes on is more memorable than the last.
She’d already accumulated millions of lifetime fans over her 20-year reign in the spotlight, but London became an example of blooming in the midst of pain after the tragic 2019 slaying of her longtime partner Nipsey Hussle. Since then, we’ve seen London take on the role of entrepreneur, activist and so much more.
Here’s everything we know about the multi-hyphenate personality.
1. She was in a Pharrell video when she was 17.
Growing up in L.A., London was likely surrounded by artists, actors and every other entertainer in between. So, it’s not a surprise she got her start in a music video at age 17 for Pharrell’s 2003 single “Frontin.”
“Is Pharrell here?” she asked the bouncer within seconds of the video.
2. She recently opened up on life three years since Hussle's death.
March 31 marks three years since Hussle’s death. In perhaps her most revealing interview since his murder, London spoke on Jay Shetty’s podcast On Purpose about how working toward essentially a new normal without her longtime partner by her side.
“When you have this plan for your life, as you should, if or when that gets derailed, and you have plan B now to go off that you didn’t plan on, it is the ultimate test of surrender,” the Games People Play star said. “Because at the end of the day as much control as we think we have, we do not.”
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She continued: “It’s actually very powerful to surrender — we think that it’s a weakness, but it’s so much power in letting go and flowing with the river because life is going to do what it’s going to do,” she said. “We are all going to get chin-checked by life one way or another — so I might as well focus on my enlightenment and roll with the river and not fight with the rocks.”
3. Hussle encouraged London and Issa Rae to mend before his death.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, actress and producer Issa Rae detailed how a misunderstanding between the two led to a years-long conflict.
While meeting with networks in hopes they would pick up The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl (later renamed Insecure), the show’s creator shared how she and London got off to a rough start after Rae identified London as “actress/video girl/Lil Wayne’s baby’s mother, Lauren London.”
“One of my biggest regrets, naming her,” Rae told the outlet. “She took offense to that.”
Rae and London later reconciled at Diddy’s birthday party in 2018, thanks in part to Hussle’s encouragement.
“He was like, ‘You should just talk to her. Let me set it up,'” Rae explained. “It actually sparked an amazing two-hour conversation. We had so much in common. She was like, ‘People don’t understand, I’m an awkward Black girl.’ In the same way that I was upset about the limited portrayal of Black women, she was like, ‘People do the same thing to me.’ I completely get that.”
4. London returned to acting to set an example for her two children.
The 37-year-old has two children, a 12-year-old son, Kameron Samuel Ari, with ex-fiancé Lil Wayne, and a 5-year-old son, Kross Ermias Asghedom, with Hussle. While promoting her 2021 flick Without Remorse opposite Michael B. Jordan, London told Entertainment Tonight she returned to the screen to set an example for her two children.
“We can’t stop, you know? We do have a purpose, all of us, and it’s important for my sons to see me moving forward with grief, not just curling up in a ball, because I curled up in a ball for a long time.
“But especially for my eldest son because he’s just a little more aware … But we will continue moving on as we had to, as he would want us to,” London concluded.
5. She speaks to teenagers who have also lost loved ones to gun violence.
In a June 2020 conversation on Jada Pinkett Smith’s hit series, Red Table Talk, London shared that she regularly meets with teenage girls who have also mourned the death of a loved one due to gun violence.
“It was a group of girls that were affected from gun violence. They lost fathers, brothers, and they’re traumatized by that. We could all relate together,” London said. “They healed me in a lot of ways because … trauma feels so lonely.”
6. She has an apparel line with Puma.
You can also add designer to her already long resume. London, Hussle and sportswear brand Puma linked up several years ago and in January 2020, she released the first apparel and footwear capsule under The Marathon Continues (TMC) name.
In a video announcing the collection, London recites a poem written by Samantha Smith, Hussle’s sister.
7. Contrary to popular belief, she and Lil Wayne were a serious couple.
Shutting down any doubt or judgment about her previous relationship with Wayne, London revealed the two were engaged, but eventually went their separate ways.
“[People speculate] that my son is the result of some kind of one-night-stand or groupie encounter with his father,” London said to Essence in an updated October 2020 feature. “I struggle with deciding when to answer or ignore the constant speculation about my private life because I feel like that doesn’t belong to anybody but me. We were in a relationship that didn’t make it. We tried more than once to revive it, and we were engaged briefly years ago, but we eventually parted ways.”
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8. London got a tattoo of Hussle following his death.
In one of the many things she did to honor her late partner, London revealed shortly after Hussle’s homegoing the tattoo she got bearing his face.
Displayed on her forearm, it features an image of Nipsey’s face, above the phrase: “God will rise.”
On Instagram, she captioned the post, “Real Love Never Dies/When you see me, you will always see him #LoveYouHussle #TMC.”
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9. Lauren was almost cast in "Snowfall"
The decision to put family over career never comes early. London should know, as she was personally tapped by the late John Singleton to star in the FX hit show Snowfall.
“Lauren was handpicked by John Singleton to do Snowfall. She read, got the part, shot the pilot…did stunts…this was her dream role,” Hussle said in a February 2019 joint GQ interview shortly before his death. “And then she got pregnant with our son. That was a really hard decision for her to make.”
“It was the toughest decision of my career by far,” London added. “Do I choose my soul or myself? I went with my soul.”
10. Her new film will debut on Netflix this year.
In her second role since Hussle’s passing, London is starring opposite Jonah Hill, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and other A-list stars in the Netflix film, You People.
Directed by Kenya Barris, London and Hill are an interracial couple dealing with societal norms and family expectations within their contrasting cultures. The film is expected to drop in 2022, but Twitter user @Talk2Pops shared stills from the project in February.
Lauren London & Jonah Hill star as a newly married couple meeting each other family starring Nia Long, Eddie Murphy & more 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JSAsb42Y36
— Talk2Pops (@talk2pops) February 3, 2022
She emotionally declared “the marathon continues” before walking off stage during Nip’s memorial, and Lauren London is holding true to her word and then some.
