Tracy Morgan Reveals He Has a Shark Tank in His Backyard for Aspiring Marine Biologist Daughter
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Tracy Morgan is doing everything he can to encourage his daughter's dreams.
Appearing in conversation with daughter Maven Sonae, 9, as well as Chelsea and Hillary Clinton on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Morgan, 53, opened up about how he supports her dream of becoming a marine biologist.
When Maven shared that sharks are her favorite ocean animal, Morgan revealed, "She has a 20,000-gallon shark tank in our backyard."
"There's 14 or 15 sharks in there, black tips, white tips," he shared. "She wanted to study, so I put like eight tanks in the house, have the shark tank outside."
Morgan noted that he gets outside help caring for the collection of sea creatures, noting that the family has a cone snail from Australia, which he said is "the most dangerous thing on the planet."
The comedian shares Maven with ex Megan Wollover. He is also dad to adult sons Tracy Jr., Malcolm and Gitrid with ex Sabina Morgan.
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Morgan regularly pulls out all the stops for his daughter. Last year, ahead of Halloween, Morgan revealed that he turns his basement into a haunted house for Maven and her friends to enjoy during the spooky season.
"Every year, I do that for her and her friends at school. I turn the whole basement – the whole basement becomes a haunted house," explained Morgan in an appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show.
"It's very scary down there. I don't go down there," he admitted. "You got It the clown and his eyes are lighting up and I'm like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa.' So, I go down every morning to work out in my gym with my trainer, then I'm upstairs."
Michael Loccisano/Getty Tracy Morgan and daughter Maven Sonae
In an emotional appearance on the Today show last November, Morgan spoke with Hoda Kotb about recovering from the 2014 highway crash that left him fighting for his life, getting choked up at one point in the interview when talking about Maven.
"She's very close to me. We're very close. That's my baby. She's my greatest costar ever. Ever," he said, referencing her role in his television series The Last O.G.
Kotb asked, "Just saying her name, why does that bring all these emotions out?"
"She was 10 months old when I got hit by the truck. So, people don't just come out of comas — I had to fight. I knew I had to be here for her," said Morgan. "I wanted to see my daughter. I've always wanted a daughter. I have a female version of me, and I'm looking at her every day as she grows under my gaze. And I love her."
Morgan added that he feels "great" and "fortunate" today, more than seven years after the accident.
"For my sons and my daughter, I just want to leave a legacy," he said. "When I'm long-gone dead, I want them to go to my star in Hollywood and say, 'That's my grandpop' ... and they can build on top of that."
