Zoe Kravitz: ‘I Struggled With Accepting Myself As Black’

Style Magazine Newswire | 5/19/2017, 11 a.m.
The daughter of Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz opens up to "Allure" about race, self-identity and Bill Cosby.
Zoe Kravitz

Big Little Lies actress recently shared a pretty big secret to Allure: It hasn’t been easy for her to accept herself as Black.

In the June issue of the popular women’s magazine, Zoe Kravitz opened about being raised by two biracial parents; being the only Black kid in school and encountering racism in Trump’s America.

“I think a lot of that made me want to blend in or not be looked at as black. The white kids are always talking about your hair and making you feel weird. I had this struggle of accepting myself as black and loving that part of myself,” the 28-year-old shared.

She added: “And now I’m so in love with my culture and so proud to be black. It’s still ongoing, but a big shift has occurred. My dad [Lenny Kravitz] especially has always been very connected to his history, and it’s important to him that I understand where I come from.”

Kravitz later admitted that her own experiences with white people as of late have played a role in how she racially identities.

“Racism is very real, and white supremacy is going strong. I am definitely mixed. Both my parents are mixed. I have white family on both sides. The older I get, the more I experience life, I am identifying more and more with being black, and what that means — being more and more proud of that and feeling connected to my roots and my history. It’s been a really interesting journey because I was always one of the only black kids in any of my schools. I went to private schools full of white kids,” she said.

Kravitz, whose mother Lisa Bonet played the iconic Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show and Different World, also opened up how the rape allegations against Bill Cosby have impacted her family.

“I think [my mother] didn’t like hearing that. It bummed her out. Though she didn’t seem incredibly surprised about it. I don’t think she wants to hear about anyone being abused, especially by someone she spent so much time with. It feels sh*tty. You want to shower.”

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