Savannah James has spent most of her adult life raising her kids. The mother of three recently opened up about how starting motherhood at the age of 18 impacted her sense of identity.
“With the boys especially, it was really hard for me to find identity outside of being a mom,” she said while chatting with her co-host April McDaniel on her podcast Everybody’s Crazy.
She continued, “I felt like that is where my identity was supposed to be so I just kind of put all of the eggs into that basket.”
James had her eldest, Bronny James, at the age of 18. She went on to give birth to her second child, Bryce James, in 2007, while she was 20 years old. Their only daughter and the baby of the clan, Zhuri, was born in 2014 during her late 20s.
The 38-year-old podcaster is not only a basketball wife, she’s also a basketball mom. Both of her sons are following in their father’s footsteps and pursuing a basketball career.
Bronny James, 20, was drafted by the Lakers in 2024 – it was a historic moment that marked the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time and on the same team.
Meanwhile, their middle child, Bryce James, is also a rising star. He led his high school, Sierra Canyon, to a state title and committed to play for the University of Arizona as part of the class of 2025.
In 2023, James said she was ready to put herself out there and expand her identity beyond being a mother, a role she admitted to loving. During an exclusive interview with ESSENCE, she explained why that period was a good time to come out from behind the shadows.
“…With Bronny going away to college and Bryce being right there as a junior in high school and Zhuri is now nine years old, a fresh nine years old, they have a good grasp of what our family dynamic is and what is expected of them,” she explained. “So, I don’t feel like I have to be a helicopter mom per se and I’m able to go out and just act on my passions and to put my foot out into new things that interest me. So I think that it’s mostly that, just knowing that the groundwork has been laid and I feel good about the position that I’ve left them in. So I feel comfortable with seeing where my passions are able to take me.”
In addition to running a podcast, James is also busy with her skincare brand, Reframe, which her daughter inspired.