Uzo Aduba and her husband, filmmaker Robert Sweeting, welcomed their first child, daughter Adaiba Lee Nonyem, in November 2023. Last spring, Uzo spoke with Yahoo Entertainment about her experience as a new mother, sharing that it had made her more confident. She also talked about learning the importance of embracing her true self and celebrating the things that make a person unique. I loved her insight in that interview. Her words really stuck with me!
Uzo is currently promoting her new Shondaland Netflix series, The Residence. I’m about halfway through it right now, and really enjoying it. Uzo recently stopped by The Jennifer Hudson Show, where she chatted about the series and talked a bit more about motherhood and life with an 18-month-old. She says that becoming a mother is the “best thing” that’s ever happened to her.
“Motherhood is the best thing that has ever happened to me,” Aduba said in a March 24 interview on “The Jennifer Hudson Show.”
The “Orange Is the New Black” actor admitted that motherhood is still “a job,” but it’s “the best job I ever had.”
She also shared a proud parenting moment: her daughter is now starting to talk — meaning she’s becoming more like her mother.
“I’m a big talker,” Aduba admitted.
She added that her little one proved to be a real “trooper” on their first international adventure.
“She’s a trooper. She’s a champ,” she said of her daughter’s resilience during their long trip to Australia.
A classically trained opera singer, Aduba said her “favorite thing” is singing to her daughter, joking that “she’s a captive audience, let’s be clear.”
In a 2024 interview with People, the actor opened up about the adjustments she’s made to her life as a parent, particularly navigating the all-too-familiar struggle of sleep deprivation.
“People say it, and I have seven nieces and nephews, but you don’t know how little you sleep in the beginning until you experience it,” Aduba said. “In college, I could do sleepless nights.”
She added, “It’s not the same.”
Awwww, Adaiba sounds adorable! I love that phase where toddlers are constantly learning and applying new vocabulary to express what they want and how they feel. It’s so much easier when they use their words instead of us trying to interpret their different cries haha. I also love that she points out that being a mom can be both amazing and a job. It’s okay to acknowledge that motherhood is a lot of work because it is. I hate when people try to make women feel bad for acknowledging that raising kids is hard work.
What else? I had no idea that Uzo was a classically trained opera singer. That’s too cool. I am sure that Adaiba is a captive audience when her mama is singing to her. Oh! And their family took a trip to Australia this past Christmas. They are brave to take a baby on a plane ride that long. We have always traveled a lot with my kids, but the furthest we flew was to Southern California and those flights could be hit or miss, nap and behavior wise. My older son has always been a travel trooper, but my younger son cannot hang when he is outside of his routine. Anyway, you can watch Uzo’s full interview with Jennifer below. It’s so charming! You can feel the joy radiating off of her when she talks about Adaiba.
Love her! There is SO much good about The Residence, and she’s the best thing of all. I highly recommend it.
(And as a birder, I feel SEEN)
I never saw OITNB, so this is the first thing I’ve seen her in and she’s fantastic.
I absolutely loved the Residence. I almost watched the whole season in one sitting and was sad when I made it to the last episode. Like other whodunits, it’s a spin on the classic Sherlock Holmes detective, but so incredibly creative, funny, with interesting characters that are three dimensional. The story is also very appropriate for the current times. I loved every character, the acting, the costumes, everything!
I hope she gets a role where she can really sing–that’d be great!
Her show, The Residence, was awesome. SHE is awesome. I hope we see her in many more excellent shows.
The Residence is SO GOOD! Uzo carries it so beautifully. The whole thing is well written, fabulous cast, gorgeous costumes and design…I’m just nervous they haven’t renewed it already!
The Residence is EXCELLENT! I loved it. I enjoyed the conclusion (where she solves the mystery) so much that I watched it three times.
So cute. I love listening to mothers brag about their children lol.
The Residence was an indictment of the first Trump Administration and I loved it.