'Insecure's' Jay Ellis And Fiancé Nina Senicar Are Parents; Welcome Daughter Nora Grace
And baby makes three!
Instagram Insecure's Jay Ellis and his fiancé, model and actress Nina Seničar took to their Instagram accounts this week to announce the birth of their first child together. Seničar posted a photo of the baby's feet in her parents' hands and wrote: "And just like that our lives got a whole new meaning. Welcome Nora Grace Ellis..." The baby was born on November 8. Ellis posted the same photo to his Instagram account and captioned it simply with a heart emoji. The couple confirmed in June that they were engaged and that she was pregnant. The couple been dating in 2015. The couple has kept their long-term relationship pretty private. In an interview in 2017 with The Breakfast Club, Ellis said: "I am in a relationship. I’m in a very happy relationship, and that’s where I leave it. I don’t really worry about anything else, and that’s it. I think for me, we give so much of ourselves in what we do no matter what side of the industry we’re on, so for me … a relationship for me is probably the most important thing that I think two people can have.'
Who is Nina Seničar?
1. She's from Serbia
Nina Seničar was born in Novi Sad, Serbia on November 11, 1985. Her family is full of doctors and professors. She started acting at 14 when she joined her high school drama club. In 2001. she won the National Champion title in show jumping and was asked to join the National team. That same year she took home the title of Miss Yugoslavia. She received a full scholarship to Bocconi University in Milan and graduated with a Master of Science in International Economics and a Master of Management in Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment.
2. Move to Los Angeles
Nina Seničar moved to Los Angeles in 2011 to pursue a career in acting. She had an uncredited role in the 2017 remake of Papillon as the Leper Woman. She voiced the role of Abby in 2019's Arctic Dogs. She's appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live as Melania Trump. She has a recurring role in the in-development television show Park Acrobats as well as roles in the upcoming films The Absurd Scam, The Downside of Bliss and La Guadalupana, according to her IMDB profile.
3. Acting in English
Nina is multi-lingual. She speaks Serbian, Italian and English. In an interview with Ivy Magazine she talked about the challenges of acting in a language other than your first one."It takes much more work to act in another language. I act mostly in English and Italian but I did a movie last year in Serbian and I was shocked how much easier it was to be spontaneous and in the moment in my native tongue."
4. Philanthropic work
Nina Seničar is very involved in philanthropy, particularly with the organization Pangea Onlus, which helps women who have experienced violence. In her interview with Ivy Magazine, Seničar said: "I work with Pangea Onlus, an organization that helps women who have suffered from violence. For example, in third world countries, Pangea uses micro-credits to help women open their own little businesses, become independent, and create a life for themselves and their children. I’ve spent some time at their center in Kabul, Afghanistan, where I spoke to women who, simply by attending the lecture, were risking their lives. If their husbands, fathers, or brothers found out that they were there, they would feel entitled to beat and rape them. The most shocking thing to me is that for those women, violence was a normal thing; they got used to it. Soon I realized that even if we can’t change all of their lives, we can educate them to raise their sons in a different way, and make a better life for new generations of women in their country."
5. Jay Ellis wasn't kidding when he said they keep their relationship private
A stroll through both Nina Seničar and Jay Ellis' Instagram accounts reveal, well, for Nina — that she's close to her dad, she has a lot of friends, but you'd never know she was with Ellis except for one Getty photo. Ellis' Instagram is full of outtakes from the set of Insecure, snaps from his life current and past, but no signs of Nina. Good for them. It is hard enough to keep a relationship healthy, happy and thriving while being in the public eye.
6. When's the wedding?
This couple is so private it's highly unlikely they are going to let the world know when their wedding is. They will likely let us know after the fact when they release gorgeous photos of themselves with their daughter Nora Grace. Congratulations to Nina and Jay!
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based writer and editor covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.