For ‘Mixed-ish’ actress Mykal-Michelle Harris, it’s all about the unicorns
In her pink-and-purple bedroom, anchored by a white bunk bed and flower-shaped ceiling fan, actress Mykal-Michelle Harris is definitive about her aesthetic: “My style is unicorns.”
Powered by magic and make-believe, which Mykal-Michelle shares with family and friends, her favorite creature inspires the whimsy and myriad colors in the room.
“Unicorns like pink and purple, and pink is my favorite color, but as you can see on my fan I also like green,” gushed Mykal-Michelle, who stars in ABC’s “Mixed-ish” and says she is “7 going on 21.”
During sleepovers with friends, the nights end with guests on the top bunk, nestled in bedding with a vivid splatter-paint design, and Mykal-Michelle below chanting “Good night!” in an operatic voice.
“I sleep on the bottom because it’s bigger and my parents say I’m a wild sleeper, and because, well, it’s more comfortable,” the lively chanteuse said.
Under the top bunk, a miniature blue LED chandelier hangs next to a dream catcher with green and blue feathers. On the lower level, a round, pink- and-purple tie-dyed unicorn pillow and a melange of smaller stuffed animals are audience to a special ritual between Mykal-Michelle and her 15-year-old brother, Julian, on and around the bed.
“He helps me make forts, then we go inside and decorate with L.O.L. dolls and put another blanket up dividing our sides. Then we’re like, ‘Hey, neighbor!’” Mykal-Michelle said.
L.O.L. Surprise is a brand of diverse, fashionably fierce, cartoonish dolls that come in spring-loaded spheres, like Kinder Eggs that conceal the dolls’ identities until the confetti-enhanced reveal. Mykal-Michelle is a spokeskid for the brand and co-hosts L.O.L.’s YouTube unboxing show with 1.25 million subscribers.
“My L.O.L. House has a bunch of different dolls — that’s me, the one that has brown hair is my aunt and the other one is my mom. I put these L.O.L dolls together; you can give them different clothes and style their hair,” she said.
Mykal-Michelle and her family moved into the 3,900-square-foot Santa Clarita home a little more than six months ago.
What was it like decorating your favorite room?
Well, I told people what to do, so with my dad I was like, “No, move the L.O.L. House this way. No, this way! No, this way! Mmm, kind of in the middle. No, this way!” There was a lot of moving things around. When I first moved in, I had to make my window seat good, and my bed good and the dolls good. Then it was my dream room.
You have such cute stuffed animals.
Oh my gosh, all my stuffed animals are really cute and I really adore them. When I sit on my window seat, I’m always hugging them and I have my doll Kendall I got for Christmas and she looks exactly like me. I keep her at home and when I come back, I hug her so tightly. We play Nintendo Switch and, of course, she always wins the game. I have gotten better.
Tell me about your Los Angeles Mission apron.
We volunteered there for Christmas and Thanksgiving. I actually have my clip right there and it says “Mykal-Michelle Harris 2019 Thanksgiving.” We fed the homeless and I did six rounds and at Christmas, I actually beat my record and did 10. My mom always says it’s not about the fame or getting recognized or anything else, it’s just about the give-back. I second that also. So I have a very heavy homeless jar and right now there’s $60 but I’m saving up for $100 for shopping for the homeless. I’m gonna give blankets, pillows and food.
Tell me about this Burlington Coat Factory poster.
That’s me when I was 3; that was my first national campaign. We would always walk into a store and they were like, “There she is, there she is!” Now I’m seeing myself on magazines and books and all sorts of things. That’s super-duper fun.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without in your bedroom?
Now that she’s in here, probably my mom — like, literally, I would starve to death — but when she’s not in here probably my iPad. ‘Cause I can call my mom with my iPad, so that would be a loophole.
Do you have a favorite memory in here?
Definitely doing this interview with you guys.
