Boris Kodjoe surprises daughter during Howard’s homecoming
Boris Kodjoe brought a piece of home to his daughter as she experienced her first Howard homecoming as a student.
As Howard University alumni flooded the yard for their annual homecoming festivities, actor Boris Kodjoe delivered a heartwarming surprise to his daughter, Sophie.
In a recent Instagram post, the “Station 19” star showed the moment when he surprised his daughter. In the video, Kodjoe is seen sneaking up behind her as she spoke on the phone. Both shocked and excited, the college freshman jumped into her father’s arms.
“When mommy is on FaceTime telling her that we’ll see her on Thanksgiving and Daddy shows up out of nowhere and surprises her…#ParentalTeamWork #SheForgotDaddyHadBackSurgery #HadToActivateTheGlutesRealQuick #HUHomecomingScenes,” the actor captioned the post.
As previously reported by theGrio, Kodjoe and his wife, actress Nicole Ari Parker, sent their daughter off to college this fall. Describing her absence from their family as a “hole in our hearts and in our home,” Parker forecast that she would be checking in on her daughter more now that she’s away at school.
“We’re going to just pack the Kleenex and buy a microwave for the room and just sit there and cry,” Parker told People, “I’m definitely going to call more […], but I’ll know by the sound of her voice if she’s lonely or ecstatic.”
Although they miss having their daughter at home, Kodjoe and Parker are proud of the 18-year-old’s accomplishments, confidence and tenacity. Sophie was born with spina bifida, a condition that affects the spine and can impact a child’s ability to walk and control their bladder. The family’s firsthand experience with the condition inspired them to launch the Sophie’s Voice Foundation (SVF) to “further research that may offer viable solutions for better healthcare for children and adults living with spina bifida.”
“She’s learned discipline [from her condition],” Parker explained. “She has a level of self-care that I don’t even have in terms of her daily regimen, her food and her water intake to keep her kidneys healthy. It’s shaped her level of responsibility. At 5, she had that squared away.”
Similarly, on their daughter’s first day of classes at Howard, Kodjoe took a trip down memory lane with an Instagram slideshow to the beat of “Who’s That Girl?” by Eve.
“Happy first day of school, Sophie-cakes,” he wrote in the caption. “You had to figure out a lot as a young girl. To see you get ready to soar into your life with certainty and confidence makes all the sense in the world to us. We love you and we are so proud of you. ❤️ You got next!”
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