Mykal-Michelle Harris is a busy kid. She appeared on Kids Say the Darndest Things and was interviewed by Tiffany Haddish last fall. In December of last year, she starred in Mariah Carey’s update to the All I Want for Christmas is You video which has received over 30 million views.
“We had a scene together and she gave me a little lollipop,” Harris said of meeting Carey. “I’m actually best friends with her twins [Moroccoan and Monroe].”
Right now, the seven-year-old’s main job is an actress. She is a series regular on the ABC show Mixed-ish and has had recurring roles on Big Little Lies on HBO and The Affair on Showtime. On Mixed-ish, Harris plays the younger version of Rashida Jones’s Santamonica Johnson character. For those unfamiliar, the show follows a young Rainbow Johnson in the 1980s, along with her siblings (of which Harris is one) and navigating growing up in a mixed-race family and figuring out who they are after moving from a hippie commune to the suburbs.
“I love telling stories and meeting different people on set,” Harris said. “I love seeing what they do and how they do it for a living.”
Harris was eager to share that earlier that day, a camera man let her sit at his camera and move it all around. That was “really cool” to her.
When asked if she’d like to direct someday or be behind the camera, Harris exclaimed “How did you know?!”
Credit: Nicola Buck Photography
She has plans to direct, create, executive produce, write and more. Harris also cares a lot about her community.
“I’m saving up for the homeless,” she explained when asked what she’s passionate about. “I want to help them to make sure they get something good to eat, blankets, pillows and clothing.”
She shared that she currently has a jar where she’s saving a few hundred dollars to shop for the homeless.
“We’re filming an episode of Mixed-ish where Rainbow, Johan and Santamonica find a homeless person on the street and they want to help them so they set up a soup kitchen,” Harris said.
While she doesn’t have any pets, Harris explained her mom said she could get one when she moves out.
“Can an eight-year-old move out?” Harris asked, laughing. She would love to get a dog and is working on her mom to agree.
“It really is important to be kind to animals,” Harris said. “We should help them and not harm them.”
As far as who she admires, Harris said her parents really support her.
“I love to make stuff for people—I made them cards once just because,” she said. “I really love my mom and dad because they always encourage me to give back—they said it’s not about the fame or anything else, it’s just about giving back and earning money to give back.”
Harris, who is the youngest in her family, also has two brothers and a sister.
For the immediate future, Harris is looking forward to celebrating her eighth birthday March 6th. She’ll be headed to Orlando to visit Disney World and plans to invite her coworkers too. Beyond that, Harris has dreams of starring in her own talk show because “you know I talk a lot,” she said.
