Keshia Knight Pulliam has a daughter and a son

Photo: Keshia Knight Pulliam Instagram

Keshia Knight Pulliam is a mom of two!

She and her husband, Brad James, welcomed their son, Knight, in April 2023. The Cosby Show actress is also mom to daughter Ella, 7, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Ed Hartwell.

He filed for divorce from Pulliam in July 2016 after six months of marriage and just a week after Pulliam announced that she was pregnant with a 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 girl. The former NFL player also requested a paternity test.

Pulliam spoke about the split in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, saying, “Despite all of this, I am grateful for my blessing, and that’s my little girl.” The Beauty Shop star welcomed Ella Grace in January 2017.

Here’s everything to know about Keshia Knight Pulliam’s two kids.

Ella Grace Hartwell, 7

Keshia Knight Pulliam Instagram

Pulliam welcomed her daughter, Ella Grace Hartwell, on Jan. 23, 2017. She announced the news with a sweet photo on Instagram, writing “Ella Grace has arrived!!!!”

At the time of her 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡, Pulliam and Hartwell were in the midst of a tumultuous divorce, with Hartwell requesting a paternity test.

In August 2016, Pulliam shared that the heartbreak the split caused had a strong influence on her daughter’s middle name.

“When I tell you through all of this the grace of God has so been with us and has covered us and protected us — she’s been my saving grace to get through it,” Pulliam said on an episode of her podcast, Kandidly Keshia. “It’s knowing that it’s not about me. It’s about her. It is about her being okay.”

Keshia Knight Pulliam Instagram

Ella primarily lives with Pulliam and her stepdad, James, in Atlanta. The family lives on a farm, which seems to suit Ella well.

In the summer of 2022, Ella started taking horseback riding lessons. “My big girl has officially started riding lessons & I am so proud!! Like me, she loves horses,” Pulliam wrote in a post on Instagram, adding, “I’m happy that I now have a little riding partner.”

As for whether or not she’ll follow in her mother’s footsteps, Pulliam has said that it’s a possibility.

“She’s aware that mommy is an actress,” Pulliam shared during an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2020. “And the other day, she was like, ‘Well Mommy, can I be an actor when I grow up?’ Whatever it is that [Ella] ultimately chooses to do, I absolutely support.”

Ella is very close with her stepdad. In February 2022, Pulliam posted a photo of James getting a makeover (courtesy of Ella) and wrote: “Love is getting your nails painted blue & wearing them out in public proudly!! #GirlDad.”

According to her mom, Ella is also a doting older sibling.

“Ella is the best big sister ever,” Pulliam told PEOPLE in October 2023. “So much so that sometimes I have to remind her that I am both of their mama and that she’s not the mama! But they love each other so much, it’s just a joy. The way his face lights up when he sees her, it’s amazing.”

Knight James

Aaron J. Thornton/WireImage

In early April 2023, Pulliam and James welcomed their 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 boy.

“With this little one we are complete,” the new mom-of-two captioned a post on Instagram, adding that her son decided to arrive very close to her own 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day. “What an eventful 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day week….”

Pulliam revealed the boy’s name, Knight, a month later in a Mother’s Day post.

Pulliam started dating James in 2019 after the pair met on the set of the TV movie Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta. The For Better or Worse actor proposed a year later. A rep for Pulliam confirmed the engagement to PEOPLE, saying the pair were “excited to find their happily ever after.” In September 2022, they tied the knot in a small ceremony at their home in Atlanta.

A few months after their wedding, Pulliam opened up to PEOPLE about her egg-freezing experience. “I began the process of freezing my eggs,” she said, before explaining that various procedures were canceled because of COVID-19. “So, I was unable to continue,” she added.

While she and James were disappointed that they had to put their plans on hold, they remained “open to getting pregnant” the “old-fashioned way.”

Then, in December 2022, Pulliam and James appeared together on The Tamron Hall Show to share that they were expecting their first 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 together.

Pulliam, noticeably pregnant, told the host that it felt “so good” to finally talk about it publicly. “Not that I’ve been trying to hide it,” she said, “but when you’ve had a miscarriage, when you’ve gone through this journey, you want to just enjoy this moment and want to make sure that everything is OK.”