September 8, 2025
Martin has no plans to tap into her childhood savings for the foreseeable future.
Marsai Martin has been on screens since grade school, but has learned a thing or two along the way.
The 21-year-old actress got her start in television with a commercial at age 5. However, she had her breakout moment when she earned a role as feisty twin Diane on ABC’s “Black-ish,” which ran from 2014 to 2022. Being on the main cast meant serious checks signed to Martin for nearly a decade.
However, the young entertainer has kept her earnings under lock and key, with no plans to use the money she saved from her early career. Instead, her parents set aside a portion of her paycheck into a Coogan account, a protected savings account meant for child stars, according to City National Bank.
While officially an adult with access to that money, Martin will not dive into her trusty savings. Despite this, the young woman has never been afraid to branch out into other realms of entertainment.
At just 14 years old, she broke records by becoming the youngest executive producer with her 2019 film “Little.” The film resulted in the creation of her own production company, Genius Productions.
However, she won’t be bankrolling any new films with the money she made during her younger years. She told Afrotech how she understands the importance of keeping the Coogan account untouched.
“It’s important to be able to know and understand saving and finances overall. I’m not planning on touching it,” Martin explained.
However, she attributes her financial ease and wisdom to her family. With her parents and grandparents supporting her, Martin takes every step to secure and expand professional opportunities for herself.
“When I was younger, honestly, I was just me doing what I love,” shared the film producer. “I was not really paying attention to how that was because I knew that they were navigating it.”
Martin added, “When I got older, like, 17, 18, that’s when it was like, ‘Alright, here’s all the things that we’ve been working up towards, and this is what it is now.’ I think it’s been a whirlwind of conversations and understanding and building a team that also understands our goals and where we’re trying to go.”
In the meantime, she hopes to further elevate her career with new projects and ambitions. However, she aims to do so all while keeping her younger self’s earnings protected.
“But you just never know. I feel like with the things that I wanna do and the different industries I wanna tap into, there [are] so many different business lanes and ventures I can jump into. With the family that I have, to push through and achieve anything that comes to mind is very important. So we’ll see,” she continued.
Martin also has other interests beyond acting. She already owns investment properties while furthering Sai’s Summer Cookout, her annual traveling event that bridges communities through food and fellowship. The cookout took place at Texas Southern University in Houston this August.
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