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Meet the Jacksons

In the film Michael, Colman Domingo, Nia Long, and Jaafar Jackson step into one of the most sacred legacies in music: The life, The family, and The genius that is Michael Jackson.

From Gary, Indiana to stages across the globe, the journey unfolds through music, sacrifice, and ambition. The story moves through a father’s discipline, a mother’s grace, and the quiet weight carried by a child destined for greatness.

Because before the icon, there was a son. Before the myths, there was a family.

At its core, Michael is about complexity. Talent and pressure. Growth and expectation. This time, the story is told with care.

From Off the Wall to looking at the Man in the Mirror, the reflection reveals the full picture of the soul of Michael.

Read more from the cast of Michael in ESSENCE’s digital cover story at ESSENCE.com. In theaters April 24.

Photography: @Mr_Dadams
Creative Producer, @laurenpaigecreates of @allworthypeople

Colman Domingo
Styling: @waymanandmicah
Grooming: @jam_rich
Barber: Pierce Austin

Jaafar Jackson
Styling: @ilariaurbinati
Grooming: @bcorso

Nia Long
Makeup: @kilprity
Hair: @farmercarla
Styling: @thereismans

ESSENCE
VP, of Social & Special Projects: @mentionme
Writer: @coolhandoak
Editorial Director: @ghostwritervic
Manager, Content Operations: @shelbylnstewart
Art Director: @so.lit
VP, Video: @nicolejanuarie

Romance is back and it’s got a passport stamp!

For years, we’ve been craving the kind of love stories that once gave us Nina and Darius, Monica and Quincy, Syd and Dre. The soft, funny, heart-tugging magic of Black rom-coms that made us believe in love again.

Now, You, Me & Tuscany arrives like a warm breeze off the Italian coast, reminding us exactly what we’ve been missing.

Starring Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page as our new favorite couple, Anna and Michael. For a minute, Hollywood forgot how to let Black love be soft, joyful, and a little messy in the best way. This film remembers.

So yes, there’s romance. Yes, there’s drama. But most of all? There’s the reminder that love can still surprise you, especially when you least expect it.

Sometimes healing looks like laughter. Sometimes, it looks like letting love meet you exactly where you are, and sometimes, it looks like Tuscany.

Read our latest Of The ESSENCE digital cover story at ESSENCE.com and see You, Me & Tuscany in the theaters on April 10th.

Photographer: @giulia_parmigiani_photography
Production: @lumina_productions_
Talent: @hallebailey and @regejean

Halle Bailey
Styling: @bryonjavar
Hair: @sparkyourhair
Makeup: @beautybychrisc

Rége-Jean Page
Stylist: @holly_macnaghten
Groomer: @carlosferraz_
Barber: @aj_rapture

Special Thanks To @universalpictures

Essence
Editorial Director: @ghostwritervic
Content Operations Manager: @shelbylnstewart
VP, of Social & Special Projects: @mentionme
VP, of Video: @nicolejanuarie
Visuals Director: @hashtag_bre
Art Director: @so.lit
Manager, Branded Content & Activations @fiftyshadesofkd
Writer: @bougiebadazz

Romance is back and it’s got a passport stamp!

For years, we’ve been craving the kind of love stories that once gave us Nina and Darius, Monica and Quincy, Syd and Dre. The soft, funny, heart-tugging magic of Black rom-coms that made us believe in love again.

Now, You, Me & Tuscany arrives like a warm breeze off the Italian coast, reminding us exactly what we’ve been missing.

Starring Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page as our new favorite couple, Anna and Michael. For a minute, Hollywood forgot how to let Black love be soft, joyful, and a little messy in the best way. This film remembers.

So yes, there’s romance. Yes, there’s drama. But most of all? There’s the reminder that love can still surprise you, especially when you least expect it.

Sometimes healing looks like laughter. Sometimes, it looks like letting love meet you exactly where you are, and sometimes, it looks like Tuscany.

Read our latest Of The ESSENCE digital cover story at ESSENCE.com and see You, Me & Tuscany in the theaters on April 10th.

Photographer: @giulia_parmigiani_photography
Production: @lumina_productions_
Talent: @hallebailey and @regejean

Halle Bailey
Styling: @bryonjavar
Hair: @sparkyourhair
Makeup: @beautybychrisc

Rége-Jean Page
Stylist: @holly_macnaghten
Groomer: @carlosferraz_
Barber: @aj_rapture

Special Thanks To @universalpictures

Essence
Editorial Director: @ghostwritervic
Content Operations Manager: @shelbylnstewart
VP, of Social & Special Projects: @mentionme
VP, of Video: @nicolejanuarie
Visuals Director: @hashtag_bre
Art Director: @so.lit
Manager, Branded Content & Activations @fiftyshadesofkd
Writer: @bougiebadazz

Romance is back and it’s got a passport stamp!

For years, we’ve been craving the kind of love stories that once gave us Nina and Darius, Monica and Quincy, Syd and Dre. The soft, funny, heart-tugging magic of Black rom-coms that made us believe in love again.

Now, You, Me & Tuscany arrives like a warm breeze off the Italian coast, reminding us exactly what we’ve been missing.

Starring Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page as our new favorite couple, Anna and Michael. For a minute, Hollywood forgot how to let Black love be soft, joyful, and a little messy in the best way. This film remembers.

So yes, there’s romance. Yes, there’s drama. But most of all? There’s the reminder that love can still surprise you, especially when you least expect it.

Sometimes healing looks like laughter. Sometimes, it looks like letting love meet you exactly where you are, and sometimes, it looks like Tuscany.

Read our latest Of The ESSENCE digital cover story at ESSENCE.com and see You, Me & Tuscany in the theaters on April 10th.

Photographer: @giulia_parmigiani_photography
Production: @lumina_productions_
Talent: @hallebailey and @regejean

Halle Bailey
Styling: @bryonjavar
Hair: @sparkyourhair
Makeup: @beautybychrisc

Rége-Jean Page
Stylist: @holly_macnaghten
Groomer: @carlosferraz_
Barber: @aj_rapture

Special Thanks To @universalpictures

Essence
Editorial Director: @ghostwritervic
Content Operations Manager: @shelbylnstewart
VP, of Social & Special Projects: @mentionme
VP, of Video: @nicolejanuarie
Visuals Director: @hashtag_bre
Art Director: @so.lit
Manager, Branded Content & Activations @fiftyshadesofkd
Writer: @bougiebadazz

Romance is back and it’s got a passport stamp!

For years, we’ve been craving the kind of love stories that once gave us Nina and Darius, Monica and Quincy, Syd and Dre. The soft, funny, heart-tugging magic of Black rom-coms that made us believe in love again.

Now, You, Me & Tuscany arrives like a warm breeze off the Italian coast, reminding us exactly what we’ve been missing.

Starring Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page as our new favorite couple, Anna and Michael. For a minute, Hollywood forgot how to let Black love be soft, joyful, and a little messy in the best way. This film remembers.

So yes, there’s romance. Yes, there’s drama. But most of all? There’s the reminder that love can still surprise you, especially when you least expect it.

Sometimes healing looks like laughter. Sometimes, it looks like letting love meet you exactly where you are, and sometimes, it looks like Tuscany.

Read our latest Of The ESSENCE digital cover story at ESSENCE.com and see You, Me & Tuscany in the theaters on April 10th.

Photographer: @giulia_parmigiani_photography
Production: @lumina_productions_
Talent: @hallebailey and @regejean

Halle Bailey
Styling: @bryonjavar
Hair: @sparkyourhair
Makeup: @beautybychrisc

Rége-Jean Page
Stylist: @holly_macnaghten
Groomer: @carlosferraz_
Barber: @aj_rapture

Special Thanks To @universalpictures

Essence
Editorial Director: @ghostwritervic
Content Operations Manager: @shelbylnstewart
VP, of Social & Special Projects: @mentionme
VP, of Video: @nicolejanuarie
Visuals Director: @hashtag_bre
Art Director: @so.lit
Manager, Branded Content & Activations @fiftyshadesofkd
Writer: @bougiebadazz

Romance is back and it’s got a passport stamp!

For years, we’ve been craving the kind of love stories that once gave us Nina and Darius, Monica and Quincy, Syd and Dre. The soft, funny, heart-tugging magic of Black rom-coms that made us believe in love again.

Now, You, Me & Tuscany arrives like a warm breeze off the Italian coast, reminding us exactly what we’ve been missing.

Starring Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page as our new favorite couple, Anna and Michael. For a minute, Hollywood forgot how to let Black love be soft, joyful, and a little messy in the best way. This film remembers.

So yes, there’s romance. Yes, there’s drama. But most of all? There’s the reminder that love can still surprise you, especially when you least expect it.

Sometimes healing looks like laughter. Sometimes, it looks like letting love meet you exactly where you are, and sometimes, it looks like Tuscany.

Read our latest Of The ESSENCE digital cover story at ESSENCE.com and see You, Me & Tuscany in the theaters on April 10th.

Photographer: @giulia_parmigiani_photography
Production: @lumina_productions_
Talent: @hallebailey and @regejean

Halle Bailey
Styling: @bryonjavar
Hair: @sparkyourhair
Makeup: @beautybychrisc

Rége-Jean Page
Stylist: @holly_macnaghten
Groomer: @carlosferraz_
Barber: @aj_rapture

Special Thanks To @universalpictures

Essence
Editorial Director: @ghostwritervic
Content Operations Manager: @shelbylnstewart
VP, of Social & Special Projects: @mentionme
VP, of Video: @nicolejanuarie
Visuals Director: @hashtag_bre
Art Director: @so.lit
Manager, Branded Content & Activations @fiftyshadesofkd
Writer: @bougiebadazz

Romance is back and it’s got a passport stamp!

For years, we’ve been craving the kind of love stories that once gave us Nina and Darius, Monica and Quincy, Syd and Dre. The soft, funny, heart-tugging magic of Black rom-coms that made us believe in love again.

Now, You, Me & Tuscany arrives like a warm breeze off the Italian coast, reminding us exactly what we’ve been missing.

Starring Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page as our new favorite couple, Anna and Michael. For a minute, Hollywood forgot how to let Black love be soft, joyful, and a little messy in the best way. This film remembers.

So yes, there’s romance. Yes, there’s drama. But most of all? There’s the reminder that love can still surprise you, especially when you least expect it.

Sometimes healing looks like laughter. Sometimes, it looks like letting love meet you exactly where you are, and sometimes, it looks like Tuscany.

Read our latest Of The ESSENCE digital cover story at ESSENCE.com and see You, Me & Tuscany in the theaters on April 10th.

Photographer: @giulia_parmigiani_photography
Production: @lumina_productions_
Talent: @hallebailey and @regejean

Halle Bailey
Styling: @bryonjavar
Hair: @sparkyourhair
Makeup: @beautybychrisc

Rége-Jean Page
Stylist: @holly_macnaghten
Groomer: @carlosferraz_
Barber: @aj_rapture

Special Thanks To @universalpictures

Essence
Editorial Director: @ghostwritervic
Content Operations Manager: @shelbylnstewart
VP, of Social & Special Projects: @mentionme
VP, of Video: @nicolejanuarie
Visuals Director: @hashtag_bre
Art Director: @so.lit
Manager, Branded Content & Activations @fiftyshadesofkd
Writer: @bougiebadazz

The power of Sinners lives in the women who helped bring it to life.

Zinzi Coogler, Ruth E. Carter, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Jayme Lawson, Wunmi Mosaku, Shunika Terry-Jennings, and Hannah Beachler shaped the film’s visual language and cultural depth. Through design, cinematography, hair, performance, and world-building, they helped reimagine Black history through horror, myth, and memory.

The results speak loudly. A box-office phenomenon. Sixteen historic Oscar nominations.

But the real impact lives deeper. These women did more than tell a story about ancestry and survival. They protected it.
Frame by frame, Sinners reminds us that when Black women create with intention, it becomes legacy.

The Women of Sinners are our 2026 ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luminaries. Read more at ESSENCE.com.

Photographer: @peacebureau
Writer: @be_vic

Zinzi Coogler 
Makeup - @janicekinjo
Hair -@marciahamiltonhair
Stylist - @JasonBolden

Jayme Lawson 
Makeup - Mila Thomas
Hair - @dhairiusnyc
Assistant - @heather_borah/?hl=en
Stylist - @jasonrembert

Wunmi Mosaku 
Makeup - @u.z.o
Hair - @iamaraxilindsey
Stylist - @shameelahhicks 
Nails- @chuenails

Hannah Beachler 
Makeup -autumnmoultriebeauty
Hair - @kimblehaircare
Stylist -  @fresh2impress

Shunika Terry-Jennings
Makeup -@camillearianemakeup
Hair - @therealritabee
Stylist -  @fresh2impress

Autumn Durald Arkapow 
Makeup - @camillearianemakeup
Hair - @therealritabee
Stylist - @fresh2impress

Ruth Carter 
Makeup -@brandyallen
Hair -@Stylesbydavonte
Stylist - @fresh2impress

Nails
Lead -@sayo_irie

Brown skin girl, skin just pearl!

Lupita Nyong’o, the woman that you are! The most beautiful woman in the world, indeed!

P.S. It’s us screaming “wine your waist” at our screens!

Video: @vernonfrancois

Sometimes all you need is someone to see you!

There’s nothing like the encouragement of a mother, and @czar_zilla2034 just made us stick our chest out with pride.

May her words encourage you to keep going this weekend!

Nearly a decade after her last album, Mýa is stepping back into the spotlight with purpose, grace, and a sound rooted in memory.

While she never truly left the cultural conversation through touring, surprise singles, and candid interviews, Retrospect feels like a full-circle moment. Inspired by the Soul, Funk, and R&B records that shaped her childhood, the album serves as both a tribute and a reintroduction.

“This is what embodied my entire childhood,” Mýa says of the project’s sonic direction, which blends live instrumentation and nostalgic textures with modern energy. Featuring appearances from artists like Joyner Lucas, 21 Savage, Too Short, and Snoop Dogg, the album bridges generations while staying true to her artistry.

In her conversation with ESSENCE, the Grammy-winning singer reflects on creative freedom, the road, Funk music’s lasting influence, and defining success on her own terms.

Read more at ESSENCE.com.

For four seasons, you opened those sliding doors every morning and invited us in like family.

In a world that often feels heavy before breakfast, you gave people a reason to smile before they even finished their coffee. You brought light into living rooms, beauty salons, break rooms, and quiet homes where somebody simply needed company. And you delivered every single time.

Thank you for the happiness. Thank you for the honesty. Thank you for the way you made people feel seen, especially Black women who recognized pieces of themselves in your humor, your heart, and your faith.

As this chapter closes, we don’t see it as goodbye. We see it as God clearing the stage for the next act. And if there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that He has never fumbled your storyline yet.

Standing ovation, Sherri Shepherd!

Photo: Getty Images

Quinta Brunson is adding another icon to her résumé, and this time, she’s entering the world of Betty Boop.

The Abbott Elementary creator and Emmy-winning star is set to develop and star in a feature film centered on the legendary animated character. Partnering with Fleischer Studios and producer Mark Fleischer, grandson of creator Max Fleischer, Brunson’s upcoming project will explore Betty Boop’s origin story through the eyes of the artist who created her.

The film will dive into the tension between creativity, fame, and commercial success as Betty transforms from a cartoon character into one of the most recognizable animated figures in entertainment history.

We can't wait to see this film come to life. Visit ESSENCE.com to read more.

We first came to know Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys through the love of music, but it’s art that continues to bind their legacy together.

Through The Dean Collection, the couple has spent years pouring into Black artists, preserving stories, and making sure our creativity is seen , valued, and remembered.

Ahead of Giants, their traveling art showcase,at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, they sat down with ESSENCE to discuss how collecting art became a love language and a commitment to keeping Black art alive for generations to come.

Read more at ESSENCE.com.

I'm So Chicago w/ Lena Waithe

You can take the person out of Chicago, but you can't take Chicago out of the person! We asked Lena Waithe about her favorite things and the city that raised her!

Visit ESSENCE.com to see more of our digital cover in tribute to The Chi!

From the South Side to screens around the world, The Chi became more than a television show. It became a reflection of us.

Go behind the scenes with Lena Waithe, Luke James, Hannaha Hall, Birgundi Baker, Jacob Latimore, and Jason Weaver as ESSENCE celebrates the final season of the groundbreaking series that gave humanity to stories too often reduced to headlines.

This is The Chi: Uncovered. Watch their full ESSENCE Uncovered at ESSENCE Mag YouTube.

To Chicago, With Love.

The South Side gave us the stories. Lena Waithe made sure the world saw the people behind them.

From love, loss, queer joy, family, ambition, and survival — The Chi never asked its characters to be perfect. It only asked them to be human.

What began as a response to the headlines became television’s longest-running portrait of Black life in all its complexity. Eight seasons later, the series takes its final bow not as the show people expected, but as the one so many grew up alongside.

In her intimate conversation with ESSENCE, Lena reflects on building a world where its characters and audience could evolve together, why discomfort was always part of the assignment, and the lasting legacy she hopes The Chi will leave behind long after the credits roll.

“I think there was something that was missing from that report, which was the humanity of the city and how violence could come about and why it was happening,” she says. “And I think that’s really what I wanted to get to the root of is what is the cause, not just the effect.”

We are so PROUD OF YOU.

Ascend to heights and levels unseen and untouched with a pen that has now wrote stories in the archives of our people forever.

You Win my dear, Lena.

Read our digital cover story at ESSENCE.com.
Roll The Credits:
Photographer: @lelanief
Production: @allworthypeople

Talent: @lenawaithe
Stylist: @newheartnyc
Hair: @takishahair
Makeup: @alovethepro
Custom Look @dvmnpigeon
Special thanks to: @paramountplus

Essence
Editorial Director & Writer: @ghostwritervic
Content Operations Manager: @shelbylnstewart
VP, of Social & Special Projects: @mentionme
VP, Video: @nicolejanuarie
Visuals Director: @hashtag_bre
Art Director: @so.lit
VP, SMTG Creative - @praise_odg

To Chicago, With Love.

The South Side gave us the stories. Lena Waithe made sure the world saw the people behind them.

From love, loss, queer joy, family, ambition, and survival — The Chi never asked its characters to be perfect. It only asked them to be human.

What began as a response to the headlines became television’s longest-running portrait of Black life in all its complexity. Eight seasons later, the series takes its final bow not as the show people expected, but as the one so many grew up alongside.

In her intimate conversation with ESSENCE, Lena reflects on building a world where its characters and audience could evolve together, why discomfort was always part of the assignment, and the lasting legacy she hopes The Chi will leave behind long after the credits roll.

“I think there was something that was missing from that report, which was the humanity of the city and how violence could come about and why it was happening,” she says. “And I think that’s really what I wanted to get to the root of is what is the cause, not just the effect.”

We are so PROUD OF YOU.

Ascend to heights and levels unseen and untouched with a pen that has now wrote stories in the archives of our people forever.

You Win my dear, Lena.

Read our digital cover story at ESSENCE.com.
Roll The Credits:
Photographer: @lelanief
Production: @allworthypeople

Talent: @lenawaithe
Stylist: @newheartnyc
Hair: @takishahair
Makeup: @alovethepro
Custom Look @dvmnpigeon
Special thanks to: @paramountplus

Essence
Editorial Director & Writer: @ghostwritervic
Content Operations Manager: @shelbylnstewart
VP, of Social & Special Projects: @mentionme
VP, Video: @nicolejanuarie
Visuals Director: @hashtag_bre
Art Director: @so.lit
VP, SMTG Creative - @praise_odg