On Donald Glover’s hit series Atlanta, Zazie Beetz played Vanessa, who raised Lottie with her on-again/off-again boyfriend, Earn, while handling the beautiful, messy business of motherhood. Now, the actress is about to play the role she’s been itching for all her life: a mother IRL.
On the red carpet at the NY premiere of her new series Nocturne, Beetz revealed she is expecting her first child with husband David Rysdahl, showing off her baby bump in an unbuttoned, striped two-piece skirt suit from Maximilian Raynor’s spring 2027 collection. Her husband stood by her side, cradling their soon-to-be-here bundle of joy. Beetz and Rysdahl have been married since 2023.
Beetz’s desire to be a mom started at a very young age. “I had a strong calling of wanting to be a mother,” she told ELLE in 2022, describing birth as both a common human experience and a massive undertaking. She expressed admiration for women and what their bodies can do.
She doubled down on that in an interview with Gossamer. “I’ve always wanted to be a mother, and hopefully I have the opportunity to do that in my life. I’ve just always felt in my bones that it was something I was meant to be,” she shared.
Beetz has prepped for the birthing process. She’s watched videos on birth, midwifery, and lactation, and said at the time that she would “love to learn midwifery,” a possible backup career.
Beetz already has some parenting advice locked and loaded for her child. While talking with EBONY during a sneak preview of her film, They Will Kill You, earlier this year, she talked about what to do when confronted with spaces that feel scary or off.
“Don’t even go in. You don’t get in the car, you don’t go in the house, you just don’t.”
Sounds like she’s got parenting speak already on lockdown.
Nocturne premieres on Apple TV on October 30.