Tessa Thompson comes from a family that is heavily involved in the entertainment industry.
Her father Marc Anthony Thompson is a musician and her mother Maciallah "Maria" is an artist.
The creativity doesn't stop there – the star's sister, Zsela Thompson is a singer, while her brother Jody Thompson is a production assistant, who worked on the Creed III set and is a fellow actor, singer and model too.
Marc is originally from Panama and he's been creating music for decades. He is a songwriter, composer, singer and he plays the guitar. He founded the group Chocolate Genius, Inc. during the 90s.
He has brought his music to the screens for projects such as Invisible Beauty and Everyday People. He also came out with his own play called The N* Lovers, which debuted in 2023.
Maria is an artist whose mediums are pottery and painting, and she is also an administrative assistant.
Both parents love gifting Tessa with handmade gifts, such as a ceramic vase that her mother gave her for her birthday, which was inspired by the moon.
Tessa shared with The Hollywood Reporter: "I really love the moon, so I think a gift like that feels so intertwined, an expression of someone saying 'I know you, I see you,' those are the gifts that really matter to me."
The actress continued: "I feel really lucky in the sense that my family loves to give gifts that are homemade. My dad does woodworking. He'll typically make me something really beautiful and thoughtful."
Her parents called it quits when Tessa was three, therefore, the actress grew up with her mother in Los Angeles.
When her dad moved to New York City when Tessa was seven, she would spend her summer on the east coast. Marc remarried photographer Kate Sterlin and welcomed Tessa's two siblings with her.
It was her father who gave her the acting bug, being that he used to direct and write up short films for her to star in when she was young.
Her father had a friend who was a casting director, therefore, he cast Tessa for a music video, during which she had her first ever kiss.
The actress shares a close bond with her mother, and the two have successfully transitioned from the parent-child dynamic to a friendship, once Tessa became an adult.
The entertainer revealed: "Obviously we're mother and daughter, but we're also women with lives outside of each other and experiences the other person doesn't know about. We're choosing to be friends and to share those experiences. Our relationship really deepened when we acknowledged that," per Harper's Bazaar.
Tess passionately expressed the many ways her mother inspires her and added: "She is unafraid to learn something new simply because she might like it. She has patience and doesn't feel like she has to be good at it immediately. I'm working on being more like her in that respect. I have a ways to go."