Lavender Grows Up: Kiami Davael’s New Documentary and Life After Matilda
Quinn Parker here, caffeinated and curious, and honey, Kiami Davael’s glow-up is the kind of nostalgic magic that makes me spill my espresso. I have THOUGHTS and FEELINGS and we need to talk about what the former Lavender from 1996’s Matilda is doing now.
Kiami Davael, who charmed audiences as Lavender, Mara Wilson’s best friend in Danny DeVito’s Matilda, is stepping back into the spotlight with a personal documentary titled The Story of Kiami Davael. The actress announced in an August 3 Instagram video that production would begin within weeks, calling the project something she is “so excited, so blessed, so grateful” about. That quote gives us the warm-and-fuzzy headline energy, but let’s pop the hood: filmmaker Jahmar Hill told BlexMedia in March that the one-hour special will include exclusive interviews with Matilda’s cast, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and reflections on the film’s legacy through Kiami’s perspective. Translation: yes, fans will get pop-culture nostalgia plus intimate, fresh material directly from someone who lived it.
Kiami made her screen debut at age 10 in Matilda, and while she briefly popped up in TV series like Moesha, In the House, and Grown Ups, she stepped away from acting by about 2000. She didn’t vanish into mystery; she pivoted. Kiami earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, which she told Carvd N Stone she completed years ago, and she used that time to recalibrate. In a 2016 conversation with Urban Girl Magazine, she explained her gratitude for continued fan interest and said she was “truly, truly humbled” by the support. That humility is very human and very relatable—plus it sets the tone for a documentary that promises authenticity rather than self-mythologizing.
Now in her late 30s, Kiami is branching out creatively and professionally. She’s focusing on producing, directing, and writing, while also working on a new EP—a multitasking move that feels 2020s and brilliant. She told sources that she missed being in front of the camera and that it felt like the right time to “leave my mark.” Her documentary seeks to do exactly that: document a child’s brush with Hollywood, the choice to step away, and the complicated, creative adult who returned to claim her story on her own terms.
Jahmar Hill’s involvement adds production credibility; his comments to BlexMedia frame the special as a celebration of Kiami’s journey as Matilda hits its 30-year milestone. Expect candid cast memories and retrospective analysis of the movie’s cultural footprint, told through Lavender’s lens.
This is part of a broader interest in what childhood stars do next. Publications often catch up with former child actors—Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Ross Kempler Lipnicki, and others—to chart lives that moved off-screen into college, martial arts, activism, or behind-the-camera roles. Kiami’s route—education, creative reinvention, and a music project—reads like a grounded, multi-hyphenate upgrade rather than a Hollywood cautionary tale.
So what will the documentary actually show? Expect interviews, archival footage, and Kiami’s present-day work, with behind-the-scenes Matilda stories as the nostalgic bait. Fans will be watching for any cast reunions or new revelations, and Jahmar Hill’s promise of exclusive interviews raises hopes for moments we haven’t seen covered by the celebrity press yet.
Ready for the premiere? Keep your streaming alerts on and your nostalgia goggles polished. This project looks set to answer questions longtime fans have been whispering for nearly three decades while introducing Kiami Davael the artist, not just Lavender the character. Whew, I could caffeinate this conversation forever, but I’ll save some espresso for the premiere night.
Okay, I need to calm down after that!
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! Online, BlexMedia, Carvd N Stone, Urban Girl Magazine
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
