Renee Elise Goldsberry's family of four is a happy one. She and her husband, New York attorney Alexis Johnson, have two kids — a teenager son and a younger adopted daughter.
With an acting career going great and a good work-family balance, the actress's life is pretty perfect. But that is not just her doing. Her husband has an equal, if not more, contribution to that.
Her incredibly supportive husband is all the things she once dreamed of in a man and more.
Renee Elise Goldsberry’s Husband Made Her Life Much Easier
2015 was arguably the busiest year in Goldsberry's career and also probably one of the best.
One of the many things she accomplished that year was an award-winning Broadway run of Hamilton from 2015 to September 2016, where she did eight shows a week throughout the run portraying Angelica Schuyler, a character she originated.
This incredibly busy schedule made many wonder how she handled things at home — Goldsberry had just adopted her daughter, bringing her over from Africa, when she took on the Broadway job. While discussing the same during an interview with Resident, she gave most of the credit to her husband.
"It would not be possible to have this dream-come-true experience if I didn’t have the most supportive husband in the whole wide world," she shared. She then went into how she outlined all the qualities she would demand from her man in her head.
"Years ago, when I was dreaming up this significant other before I’d even met him, I remember thinking I need the kind of man who can deal with the extremes of the life of an actress," she detailed.
The actress wanted someone who could deal with her potential unemployment and stagnant career, support her when she was extremely busy, and be by her side when she took the spotlight on red carpets or hold her purse on the side.
"It’s not easy—the man who can support you totally when you have so little to give is a very unique creature," said Goldsberry. "And by the grace of God, I have the most perfect one in the world."
Johnson supported her career moves, loved Hamilton, and just wanted her to be happy. He gave her the assurance that he and their children were happy because, without that knowledge, she saw no point in leaving the house.
"If this isn’t happiness, I don’t know if it exists," she concluded.
Renee Elise Goldsberry’s Family Life with Her Husband and Children
Goldsberry and Johnson got married on December 8, 2002. They had their first kid, son Benjamin Johnson, on May 4, 2009, and their adopted daughter, Brielle, was born on February 14, 2014.
Goldsberry with her family — husband Alexis Johnson, son Benjamin, and adopted daughter Brielle. (Photo: Renee Elise Goldsberry/Instagram)
The couple, who were raising their kids in Harlem as of 2016, did so because of the unique joy New York provided to them. They modeled their parenting style based on how her parents raised her — with an emphasis on creative freedom and expressiveness.
They also tried to be examples to their children in that way, always keeping the home environment musical, artsy, and upbeat.
Another thing they made sure of was a good environment outside the house.
"We have a family that we’ve constructed for ourselves in Harlem where we live — good friends that we spend a lot of time with who have children the same age and have similar values," she told New York Family in 2016.
Even though she has brought to life many characters throughout her career, her role as a mother was the ultimate role.
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