celebrity kids

Bernie Mac's set to be the subject of a feature film biopic produced by John Legend's company, and if the late comedian's daughter has her way ... casting will be a breeze.

Mac's daughter, Je'Niece McCullough, tells TMZ ... since her dad died she's been asked many times who would be best to play him in a movie, and there are 2 names she's had in mind for a while.

The first is Aldis Hodge -- known for his roles on "Leverage" and in "Hidden Figures" -- because Je'Niece says he's a great actor with a similar complexion to Bernie.

He also has major biopic experience -- he played MC Ren in "Straight Outta Compton" and more recently, NFL legend Jim Brown in "One Night in Miami." Je'Niece believes he's the perfect A-lister to play her dad as an adult.

But, that's not all ... she also has an out-of-the-box option if producers want to portray Bernie in his younger years, and he's a YouTube star.

His name is Mark Phillips, and Je'Niece tells us her daughter loves him, and always says how much he reminds her of Bernie. She adds that Mark is funny and has the acting chops to capture her dad's essence.

The just-announced project is a partnership between Legend's production company, Get Lifted, and Mac's estate ... which Je'Niece says is headed up by her mother.

Before this happy fella was a multi-talented star, he was just another kiddo rockin' a bowl cut around town.

This celeb has had quite the career over the last few years, he has starred in several films such as "Never Been Kissed," "See Spot Run" and "Never Die Alone." He is best known for his role as Dewey Riley in all four 'Scream' films.

Aside from acting, he has also had time in the ring as a professional wrestler. He earned the title of WCW World Heavyweight Champion in early 2000, following the filming for his movie "Ready to Rumble".

It looks like tennis genes weren’t the only things Serena Williams passed down to her daughter Alexis Olympia ... the mini-Serena also clearly got her mom’s sense of style too!!!

Olympia -- who was on the court Thursday for tennis practice -- rocked the kid’s version of the 1-legged pink, red and black catsuit Serena wore at February's Australian Open ... and it's freakin' adorable!!

Serena's hubby, Alexis Ohanian, posted the photos onto the tot’s social media account, and it got tons of love -- 'cause look how stinkin' cute it is!

But, Serena wasn't exactly happy with it ... in fact, she seemed downright jealous -- explaining in the comment section that she wanted to be there in person to see the fit!

"Awwwww mannnnnn I asked you to save this post until I was next to her side by side in my same outfit," the 39-year-old tennis G.O.A.T. said to her husband.

"Oophhh I guess I’ll have to pull the plug from your phone tonight. And you wake up wondering why you have no battery. LOL."

While Olympia wore it as a tribute to her mother, Serena actually originally wore it as a tribute to another sports legend -- track star Florence Griffith Joyner.

Serena explained her choice to wear the outfit back in February in Australia, saying, "I was inspired by Flo-Jo, who was a wonderful track athlete, amazing athlete when I was growing up."

Florence, or Flo-Jo as she became famously known, was one of the greatest sprinters of all time ... winning 3 gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Tyra Myricks believes she has a solution to a notorious L.A. problem -- she's bringing New York-style pizza to the West Coast, and tells us she's making it with the right ingredients.

Tyra -- an entrepreneur and daughter of Jam Master Jay -- has teamed up with T'yanna Wallace, daughter of The Notorious B.I.G., to launch Juicy Pizza ... named after the latter's smash 1994 hit track.

Myricks says she came up with the idea when she was struggling to find good NY-style 'za in L.A. -- a common gripe, especially for transplanted NYers. So, she hit up T'yanna with her plan, because Biggie best represents that Brooklyn vibe she wants for their pizza joint.

Tyra took us through the New York-inspired menu when she was on Thursday's "TMZ Live," and revealed their secret ingredient -- real NY water in their dough. You gotta watch to see how they're getting that agua out west.

If you're still not sold, there's also this -- Juicy's gonna have a members-only cannabis lounge in the back ... to attract celebs and turn the place into a Hollywood hot spot. The fun begins real soon, because Juicy Pizza is opening its doors for dinner Saturday night.

Before this sporty sprout was known as an Olympic figure skater, he was just another kid riding around the neighborhood!

This talented tot grew up to be one competitive star ... after years of training and figure skating competitions, he joined the Olympic team at the Winter Games in South Korea in 2018. During the games, he won a bronze medal in the team event. That same year he was cast on "Dancing with the Stars" and even won The Mirrorball Trophy. He ended that year by announcing his retirement from figure skating.

He has since made appearances on shows such as "RuPaul's Drag Race" and was even featured in Taylor Swift's "You Need To Calm Down" music video.

California native Donovan McCrary was only 12 years old when he played the young athletic version of Ricky -- who's college football dreamz are cut short after being murdered by gang members his senior year of high school -- in the 1991 drama "Boyz n the Hood."

DM shared the big screen with some A-list actors including Ice Cube as the gang-affiliated friend, Doughboy, Morris Chestnut as the grown-up version of Ricky ... and of course Cuba Gooding Jr. and Laurence Fishburne as the father and son duo, Tre and Furious.

Fun fact: Donovan's older brother is Darius McCrary who is best known as Eddie Winslow in the TGIF classic "Family Matters."

Before this tiny tot was known for being a professional basketball player, he was just another cute kid up next at bat on his little league team.

This famous sporty stayed focused on his basketball career and went from a college athlete to an NBA player in 2009, when he joined the Los Angeles Clippers. He was named rookie of the year following his start in the NBA.

Even though the name of this tiny tot's tee-ball team is a mystery ... we do know that he's been on some big-named NBA teams including the Detroit Pistons and also the Brooklyn Nets!

Hollywood royalty, Pearl McKay, was only 2 years old when she screamed her way into the hearts of the world as the foul-mouthed landlady Pearl -- who lays down the law when she comes to collect the overdue rent from Will Ferrell -- in the breakthrough viral video "The Landlord" on Funny Or Die back in 2007.

"The Landlord" was one of the top videos on the comedy site with over 80 million views and continues to get lots of love on their youtube channel over a decade later!

Fun Fact: Pearl is the daughter of big-time comedy icon Adam McKay and Jeremy Piven's sister Shira Piven.

Here's Travis Scott driving like a bat out of hell ... running a red light and blowing through a stop sign in Beverly Hills to get to his daughter ... and it's all on video.

The rapper was behind the wheel of his Mercedes-Benz G Wagon Cabriolet Thursday when he drove right through a stop sign and then went around a car stopped at a red light, cruising through the intersection before he got a green.

Travis was apparently in a big rush because of Stormi ... he ended up at Coldwater Canyon Park, where his daughter was with his security team.

As you can see, Travis double-parked outside the playground ... and we're told he spoke to the security guards and then bounced in his luxury SUV.

The photog who shot the video says Travis drove away erratically, so it's unclear if his driving had anything to do with Stormi.

We reached out to Travis' rep, who had no comment.

Amazing news for Greg Olsen and his family ... the former NFL star says his 8-year-old son, TJ, has found a donor match for his heart transplant!

The 36-year-old tight end made the announcement on his social media page Friday morning, calling the news "a huge step forward."

"A day we have prayed for has arrived," Olsen said while posting a picture of him smiling with TJ and his wife, Kara.

"We were alerted last night that there was a donor match for TJ to receive his heart transplant. Walking our little boy, with tears of hope and fear in our eyes, was one of the toughest moments of our lives."

Olsen added, "We ask for everyone’s prayers for TJ and his amazing team of doctors and nurses. TJ has a long road ahead of him but today is a huge step forward."

As we previously reported, TJ was hospitalized last month in North Carolina with a serious heart condition.

Olsen said it was all very terrifying, 'cause TJ "has already undergone 3 open heart surgeries and has survived with a modified heart for his first 8 years of life."

It's unclear when TJ will have his operation ... but he's already got at least one big NFL star rooting for him -- Julian Edelman tweeted to Olsen on Friday, "Thoughts are you with your little one today bubs."

Swizz Beatz's son, Nasir Dean, is ready to make a name for himself in Hollywood ... and he's taken his first big step after landing a role in a feature film.

We've learned Nasir will star in the new film, "Charge It To The Game" ... a coming-of-age story about 4 best friends who are finding their way through adolescence while navigating the obstacles that come with growing up.

Nasir will play the role of Preach ... one of the four best friends.

We're told this is a huge step for Nasir ... who's wanted to break into the acting biz for a long time. Just a couple of years ago ... Nasir was featured in a music video for Common's track "Hercules" featuring Swizz Beatz. After that performance ... he got several offers from producers and filmmakers but, at the time, Nasir wanted to stay focused on his music career.

Under his stage name, Note Marcato, he released an EP "BeachBum Limbo" last year with Epic Records and he's got a new music project slated to be released later this year dubbed "Mr. Cardinal."

But, the itch to act has always been there, according to his manager and attorney, Nichole Levy. We're told he auditioned for a role in season 2 of HBO's hit show "Euphoria." He didn't land it but then "Charge It To The Game" came a-knockin'.

We're told Swizz is psyched about his son landing the role ... and while he's got a ton of pull in Hollywood and beyond, we're told he's been hands-off about Nasir's career ... given Nasir's desire to develop his own brand.

Before this camp kid was making audiences laugh with his comedic shows and stand-up, he was just another silly sweetheart spending his summers in the wilderness away from his home in Rye, New York.

This funny fella has shown off all his crazy characters in a Comedy Central sketch show named after himself. His goofy antics have scored him featuring roles in some of the most beloved television series -- including "Parks and Recreation," "New Girl" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

If you don't recognize his face, you may be familiar with his voice instead ... which has voiced numerous animated roles.

Before this cool kid was stealing the spotlight in your favorite television shows streaming online, she was just another trendsetting tot flashing peace signs for the camera in Pitman, New Jersey.

This jean jacket girl is best known for her outstanding performances in multiple Emmy award-winning shows featuring an ensemble cast of talented women ... whose matching colored costumes play a large importance to their respective series. Even though her popular Netflix series ended in 2019, you can still catch her in a thrilling drama on Hulu with new episodes premiering every week.

Blessed be the fruit!

Before this cheerleading child was reaching sky-high levels of fame as a teenager, she was just another cute kid showing off her pom-poms in Augusta, Georgia.

This sports fan moved from the sidelines onto the main screen when she was cast as the lead role in a Disney Channel original movie ... where she gets stuck with a famous celebrity played by "Saturday Night Live's" Taran Killam. With her experience as a superhero in another Disney movie, she was able to captivate audiences when she was featured recently in a few other comic book-inspired CW shows.

Bryan Callen's officially divorced and while he's paying a nice chunk o' change in support, their assets are split pretty evenly ... right down to their 2 pups.

The actor and comedian best known for "The Hangover" and the ABC sitcom "The Goldbergs," finalized his divorce with Amanda Humphrey earlier this month, and according to the docs, Amanda gets their Santa Monica crib worth around $3.4 million. She'll also keep a leased 2019 Lexus GX 460 Sport Wagon and several bank accounts.

Bryan will pay Amanda $11,496 every month in spousal support, and $8,504/mo. in child support for their 2 kids ... 13-year-old Stella Quinn and 9-year-old Finn Cook.

Speaking of the kids, Bryan and Amanda will share joint legal custody, and have already hammered out a visitation schedule. Their 2 dogs are kind of a package deal with Stella and Finn -- the pets will be with Amanda, but when the kids are with Bryan he'll get the dogs too.

However, Amanda keeps their horse. Of course.

Now, Bryan's walking away with a Venice home worth nearly $2 million, his 2014 Toyota Prius and his leased 2019 Tesla Model S. He'll also keep the rights to his podcast "The Fighter and the Kid" and some of his bank accounts.

Kim Kardashian had a really bad case of COVID-19 along with her kids, which shut down production of her show for 2 weeks ... and she says it disrupted her studying for her second crack at the baby bar.

A teaser for "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" already revealed Saint had tested positive for the virus -- but on Thursday night's episode we find out the health crisis went far beyond her oldest son, and affected her whole brood.

Kim says Saint tested positive after an apparent outbreak at his school, and she was really worried about him because he was crying and coughing a lot ... on her. Of course, with 3 other kids in the house, she was also concerned about it spreading, and that's exactly what happened.

North started feeling sick soon after, and eventually both she and Kim discovered they had COVID too. At that point, producers decided to shut down all 'KUWTK' shoots for 14 days while the family quarantined.

Kim says she had some severe symptoms, like a 104-degree fever ... exactly when she was supposed to be putting in 12-hour daily study sessions to retake the baby bar exam -- which as we reported, she'd previously flunked.

Fortunately, everyone in the fam recovered okay, but it seems Kim failed on take 2 of the test. Earlier this week, she said she was studying to take it again.

It's still unclear exactly when COVID hit Kim and her kids since the show was filmed months ago, but we know Khloe contracted the virus sometime in 2020 and revealed on 'KUWTK' that her symptoms were so bad ... Kris Jenner called every doctor she could think of for help.

Kim previously stated Kanye West also had it in the very early days of the pandemic.