- Je’niece McCullough is a 46-year-old daughter of late American comedian, Bernie Mac
- She is a professional speaker, writer, and psychologist
- Aside from this, she is the mother of one child with her husband, Tre
Je’niece McCullough rose to fame as Bernie Mac’s daughter. In her own right, she is a successful American speaker, writer, and counselor. Her father enjoyed a successful career on the fox sitcom, The Bernie Mac Show which ran in the early 2000s as well as on Oceans 11 and Bad Santa.
While her father gained wide acclaim as an actor, and comedian, his death on August 9, 2008, from sarcoidosis made many curious to know more about his only child. Here is all we found out about her.
Je’niece McCullough Had a Troubled Childhood
She was born on March 21, 1978, in Chicago to Bernie ‘Mac’ McCullough and Rhonda MacCullough. Though her father portrayed the role of a strict but loving uncle who was never married nor had kids on the Bernie Mac Show, in real life, Je’niece was his only daughter.
Like his strict Tv character, Je’niece’s childhood was filled with some of this strictness. The 46-year-old woman revealed that the relationship between her and her father was semi-verbal abusive due to the harsh words he used on her. He is said to have used words such as soft and weak on her. As a result, she walked on eggshells around the comedy king and actor.
Aside from becoming anxious about her father’s behavior, Je’niece decided to start keeping a journal to deal with it.
Regarding her education, Je’niece attended Morgan Park High School and graduated in 1995. After graduating high school, she enrolled at the Xavier University of Louisiana to study Psychology. It is not clear whether she chose this field of study due to the issues of her childhood, nonetheless, she completed her studies in 2000. Moving forward, she continued with her educational pursuit by enrolling for a master’s degree in the same institution. Upon completion of her program in 2002, she earned a master’s in Mental Health Counseling.
The Xavier University Alum Started her Career as a Case Manager
According to her LinkedIn profile, Je’niece chose a career in line with her educational training after graduating from school. She took her first job with the New Orleans criminal justice court where she handled drug cases for clients within the legal system. In the course of her work which lasted between October 2002 and August 2003, she served as a link between the court and the clients she handled.
Per the same source, she joined the South Suburban council, an Illinois-based organization that deals with the treatment and support of those suffering from alcoholism and substance abuse. She joined the program in 2003 as a counselor, case manager, and vocational trainer. While the work provided her with an opportunity to practice what she had learned in school, she left the following year.
For her next role, Je’niece became a personal assistant at MacMan Enterprises Inc, a management organization that also handled her father’s career. Between 2004 and 2008 when she worked there, it brought her close to her father’s career. Though she did not appear with him on screen, she worked behind the scene by taking roles such as managing his calendar and travel plans.
Je’Niece also Worked as Vice President at her Father’s Foundation
Considering how closely she worked to make her father’s career a success, it is not surprising that she took a management spot in his foundation. Je’niece worked as the Vice president of the Bernie Mac Foundation for Sarcoidosis.
While there she ran the foundation together with her mom to raise awareness of the disease as well as raise funding.
A Look Into her Marriage
Je’niece is married to a man named Tre. However, there are few details about that marriage. In fact, the marriage is speculated to have ended in a divorce.
However, this has never been verified. Moreso, she has appeared alongside a man who is assumed to be her husband in some of her social media updates. If the same man is Tre, then they are probably still together.
She Is a Mother of 1
The celebrity child of Bernie Mac is now a mother to an adult child named Jasmine. Prior to having her own child, she once held the belief that she did not want to have children of her own due to the childhood trauma she had suffered.
Thankfully all this changed when she became an adult. Needless to say, even after giving birth to Jasmine, she still felt uneasy about her father.
Je’Niece Reconciled with Her Father Before He Died
Having suffered from childhood trauma, Je’niece realized that she had to genuinely make things work with her father so that she can heal. Notably, she made the first move by writing Bernie a 7-page letter. At the time she was pregnant and about to make him a grandfather.
While her revelation drew different reactions from fans and followers of Bernie ranging from support to criticism of Bernie’s parenting style, he apologized to her for how he treated her. This marked the beginning of a new relationship between the two.
Notably, they had a cordial relationship till his sad death on August 9, 2008, from complications of sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that affects the lungs and lymph nodes. It turned out that the iconic actor had lived with the disease for 25 years.
Rumors About her Father’s Death
As captured earlier, Bernie’s cause of death is linked to complications of sarcoidosis, there have been speculations that his death was avoidable. It is alleged that the actor had been in remission from the ailment since 2005, that is three years before his death.
Following his death, Je’niece’s mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2010 against Dr. Rene M. Earles, the doctor that treated him. According to the suit, the doctor failed to transfer him from his clinic to a hospital despite the respiratory complications he was having.
In his defense, the doctor refuted this claim. The lawsuit was dropped in 2015 due to a lack of supporting evidence. As it is, this detail about Bernie’s death has continued to raise questions about medical negligence.
See Also: Volodymyr Zelenskyy: The Rise Of Ukraine’s President From A Comedian To President
What is Bernie Mac’s Daughter, Je’niece McCullough Up To?
Since her father’s death, the mother of one has been promoting her father’s legacy through her writing and public message as a speaker. In 2011, she appeared on I Aint’s Scared of You: A Tribute to Bernie Mac alongside stars like Anthony Anderson and Angela Bassett. She also made an appearance on an episode of the reality show, Unsung Hollywood in 2015.
Away from this, Je’niece is working professionally as a speaker. Having garnered experience as a counselor, case manager, and vocational trainer over the years, it is not surprising that at this point in her life, she chooses to make the world a better place. Some of her experiences also appear in writing she shares on medium.com.
Reportedly, her career path as a professional speaker started in 2011. Ever since she has addressed people at graduations as well as made appearances on talk shows such as ABC Windy City Live Talk Show and Today’s Black Woman Expo.
