The honorary Oscar winner enjoyed a glamorous theater date night, accompanied by his rarely-seen daughter and his longtime love.
Samuel L. Jackson went on Broadway on Monday, March 17, joined by his daughter, Zoe Jackson, to support LaTanya Richardson Jackson in her acclaimed new play. The trio posed for photos, sparking fan reactions about their striking family resemblance.
Samuel, LaTanya, and their daughter Zoe Jackson had a family night out at the Helen Hayes Theater for the opening of “Purpose.” The three happily posed for photos, their smiles capturing the celebratory spirit of the evening.
After the event, Samuel shared one of the snapshots online, expressing his pride in LaTanya’s performance. “LT SHOWED UP & SHOWED OUT! Yall betta hurry up and see PURPOSE on Broadway‼️‼️ @purposeonbroadway [sic],” the stage veteran captioned the post.
Fans quickly reacted to the sweet photo. However, while many praised the family moment, others couldn’t help but comment on Zoe Jackson’s striking resemblance to her parents. One fan remarked, “Daughter looks like Dad!” while another added, “Zoe is her dad’s twin.”
Others thought she took after her mother. One fan said, “Wow! She looks so much like her mother❤️❤️❤️” and another person concurred, “Looks like mom. She is beautiful like mom.”
Amid the opinions on her likeness, some admired the moment, with one fan commenting, “Great photograph. Enjoy everyone!” and another gushing, “Beautiful ❤️❤️.”
The Jackson family’s night out was to celebrate LaTanya Richardson Jackson’s accomplishments and a heartwarming display of their close bond.
This tight bond has seen the Jackson family show up for each other in their careers. However, behind their professional success, is an equally compelling personal story of love, resilience, and redemption between LaTanya and Samuel.
The couple’s love story began in the 1970s when Samuel was a college student at Morehouse College and LaTanya attended Spelman College, both historically Black institutions in Atlanta.
LaTanya, also a talented actress, was initially unimpressed by Samuel’s flamboyant, self-involved, and emotionally detached personality. Yet, as she got to know him, she recognized his potential, setting the foundation for a relationship that has lasted nearly five decades.
LaTanya and Samuel quickly bonded over their shared passion for the arts. LaTanya was already an established performer then, with Samuel later acknowledging, “She’s been acting longer than I have.”
While he pursued acting, LaTanya had a successful career as an actress. Though she scaled back her work to focus on their family and support Samuel’s burgeoning career, she continued acting in notable stage and screen projects over the years.
The two made a pact early in their relationship to stay together no matter what, with LaTanya later explaining that they wanted to challenge the stereotype that Black families couldn’t maintain strong, two-parent households.
“In the beginning, we always said the most revolutionary thing that Black people could do was stay together, raise their children with the nucleus of having a father and a mother since everybody likes to pretend that that’s not the dynamic of the African American family,” she stated.
However, their love and commitment faced a significant test during the early years of their marriage when Samuel L. Jackson became addicted to drugs. He admitted that his addiction began as a way to cope with the pressures of life and work.
The actor revealed, “I drank, I smoked, I got high. I didn’t think it was in the way of my life, or so I thought.” Over time, however, his substance use escalated, and he became emotionally detached from his family.
The “Unthinkable” star’s addiction reached its peak in the late 1980s, leading him to isolate himself from his wife and their daughter, Zoe.
Reflecting on that time, Samuel admitted, “I had basically moved into the basement of our brownstone. I was like the troll in the basement, coming upstairs every now and then to hover around. I was addicted and being crazy.”
For LaTanya, the breaking point came one night when she found her husband unconscious on their kitchen floor, having passed out before using a batch of cocaine he had cooked. She staged an intervention, making calls to secure a spot for him in a rehab facility in upstate New York.
Samuel entered rehab in 1990 at 42 and emerged with a renewed sense of purpose. His wife’s unwavering love and determination became the catalyst for his decision to turn his life around, and he was “tired” of his old ways.
When asked if he would have survived without her, Samuel candidly revealed, “I credit her because she could have just taken Zoe and walked out and been done with me. But she didn’t. That’s a greater love than I will ever know, because I don’t know that I would’ve done that.”
“She didn’t have to try to fix me,” he noted. “She could’ve just said, ‘Get out,’ and left me into the world, let me go and be whatever I was going to be.”
LaTanya, however, humbly downplayed her role, saying, “He saved his life. He and God saved his life. I was just there.” The actor’s first role after his treatment was as Gator Purify, a crack-addicted character in Spike Lee’s “Jungle Fever.”
His performance was so powerful that the Cannes Film Festival honored him with a special Supporting Actor award, created specifically to recognize his work in the film. From that point forward, his career skyrocketed.
His performances in films like “A Time to Kill” cemented his status as a leading man, and throughout it all, LaTanya remained his steadfast partner. After over four decades of marriage, Samuel and LaTanya attribute their lasting bond to several key factors.
“A lot of tolerance, because everybody’s got flaws, and not giving up when it would be easy to give up,” Samuel explained. “She has, too, in her head, or whatever in reality, but you got to go, ‘Is that a breakup offense?’ Or is it just that we need to spend a little time together and get some understanding about it?”
Despite their challenges, Samuel and LaTanya continue to grow together, both personally and professionally. The couple collaborated as producers on the Apple TV+ series “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey,” a project close to Samuel’s heart because of his family’s history with Alzheimer’s disease.
“I’m amazed at how busy we are in our seventh decade. I’m grateful because I think of all the things that could be,” LaTanya shared.
When they’re not working, the couple enjoys spending time with Zoe, a TV producer, who brings them joy and laughter. “She makes me laugh like nobody else,” Samuel revealed.
In September 2020, he took to Instagram to celebrate his daughter and sweetly shared, “HAPPY DAUGHTER’S DAY Zoe‼️‼️A constant source of joy & bursting pride & delicious gastronomic surprises. Love you today & errrrrrrday🤩👊🏾👊🏾‼ [sic].”
From being college sweethearts to lifelong companions, Samuel and his wife have overcome extraordinary challenges while building a legacy that inspires others. Their enduring love shines as a beacon of hope and commitment in a world where Hollywood romances often fade.
