Quiet Brilliance: Imani Duckett and the Family That Shaped Her

Basic Information

Early Life and Education

Imani Duckett entered the world on March 28, 1999, in New York City, her first home an orbit of art and music shaped by her mother’s career. Childhood unfolded between New York and Atlanta, cities that offered stages, galleries, and the hum of ambition. Her name—Imani, meaning “faith”—mapped the values her family carried forward.

In 2017, she graduated from Atlanta Girls School, then crossed the Hudson to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. There she sharpened technique and voice, finishing with a BFA in Acting in 2021. Her senior-year work included original animation and a visual poem—early signs of a multidisciplinary instinct that would become her hallmark.

Family Ties

The architecture of Imani Duckett’s life is anchored by family—educators, ministers, and performers whose lessons flicker through her art. Her mother, Jasmine Guy (born March 10, 1962), is a celebrated actress, singer, and dancer best known for defining Whitley Gilbert in A Different World (1987–1993). Jasmine’s career spanned television, film, and music, and her parenting style has long emphasized unconditional support and creative courage.

Imani’s father, Terrence Mitchell Duckett, is a consultant who kept a low profile even as the family navigated public separation. Jasmine and Terrence married on August 22, 1998; their divorce was finalized on April 8, 2008, when Imani was nine. Jasmine received primary custody. Court records at the time set child support at $1,469 per month, and a 2012 filing sought $39,663 in past-due support. Through it all, the family’s focus remained clearly on Imani’s well-being.

Her maternal grandparents—Reverend William Guy, longtime pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta, and Jaye Rudolph, a retired high school teacher—infused her upbringing with faith and scholarship. Her aunt, Monica Guy, forms part of that circle of care. Imani is an only child and has no known children of her own.

Family Snapshot

Stage and Screen: A Measured Ascent

Imani’s first notable performance came in March–April 2016, at age 17, in the Atlanta production Serial Black Face, where she portrayed Latoya, a rebellious teen set against the tense backdrop of the 1979–1981 Atlanta Child Murders. It was a role of gravity and nuance, signaling that she gravitated toward stories with depth rather than simple spotlight.

In 2020, she appeared as Luna in the television movie Open, sharing scenes with her mother. The project marked a family echo on screen: two artists, two generations, one shared frame. Her earlier on-camera presence includes a 2014 appearance as herself in Unsung Hollywood, a quiet note in a growing credit list.

Visual Art and Exhibition: Paper Cuts

If acting is the voice, visual art is the heartbeat of Imani Duckett’s portfolio. She launched an Instagram outlet, IGD Creations, in 2019 to host paintings, animation, and mixed-media experiments. Over time, her work began to braid themes of Black identity, strength, fragility, and internal conflict—poetry rendered through scissors, pigment, and texture.

From March 1–6, 2024, she staged her first solo art exhibition, Paper Cuts, at All Street Gallery (77 East Third Street, New York City). The show presented visual poetry that felt like feelings folded into origami—precise edges, layered meanings, and a vulnerability that invited close looking. Family posts, including Jasmine’s enthusiastic shares of a painted coat (2019) and Paper Cuts imagery (2021), tracked the arc from concept to gallery wall.

Craft, Discipline, and Work Behind the Curtain

Imani’s artistry is more than performance; it’s discipline. In June 2022, she interned as a production assistant at Team Epiphany, absorbing the mechanics of storytelling and marketing. The choice to work behind the scenes reveals a blueprint: learn the system, then change the system through work that speaks in both image and word.

Her estimated net worth of $1–2 million reflects familial stability as much as personal earnings in an emerging career. What matters most to her story are the hours in rehearsal studios, the drafts of scripts and visual poems, and the careful cultivation of a public presence that remains intentional, even sparse.

Public Presence: Low Profile, Growing Echo

In 2025, social media posts renewed interest in Imani Duckett as “rising talent,” often framed through the lens of her mother’s legacy. Yet the volume remains low by design. She surfaces in family interviews and celebratory clips, choosing privacy over constant broadcast. No major controversies dot her timeline—only patient progress and a widening toolkit.

Timeline and Milestones

Relationship with Jasmine Guy: Art, Guidance, and Grace

The bond between mother and daughter threads through nearly every chapter. Jasmine’s Instagram captions—motherly pride distilled into short lines—give a glimpse of the day-to-day encouragement: celebrating graduation, amplifying new works, standing in the front row for opening nights. They co-starred in Open in 2020, a symbolic bridge between legacy and emergence. In interviews and panels, Jasmine often speaks about love without conditions, the kind that lets a young artist take risks and still know the ground is firm.

Themes and Identity: Strength, Fragility, Faith

Imani’s art often wrestles with dualities—strength and fragility, identity and anonymity, performance and privacy. These dualities reflect her lived experience: faith rooted in family, resilience shaped by public change, creativity honed by formal training. She is at once inside the spotlight and just outside of it, exploring the calm edges where growth happens quietly.

FAQ

How old is Imani Duckett?

She is 26 years old, born on March 28, 1999.

Who are her parents?

Her mother is actress Jasmine Guy, and her father is consultant Terrence Mitchell Duckett.

Where did she study?

She graduated from Atlanta Girls School in 2017 and earned a BFA in Acting from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 2021.

What are her notable works?

Her credits include Serial Black Face (2016), Open (2020), and the solo art exhibition Paper Cuts (2024).

Does she have siblings?

No, she is an only child.

What is her height?

She stands at 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm).

Is she active on social media?

Yes, though she keeps a low profile; her posts often focus on art and personal creativity.

Where does she live?

She resides in New York City.

What is her estimated net worth?

Estimates place it between $1 and $2 million.

What themes appear in her artwork?

Her work explores Black identity, inner conflict, strength, and vulnerability through visual poetry.