Kniko Howard was born into circumstances that would define his early years in ways most children never experience. His mother, Draya Michele, was seventeen years old and his father had just been sentenced to ten years in prison when she was seven months pregnant. Without child support, without a partner, and with only her own mother for support, Draya raised Kniko from birth while simultaneously working to build the career that would eventually make her a household name in entertainment and fashion.
Kniko Howard Quick Biography
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Kniko Howard |
| Date of Birth | December 29, 2002 (some sources say January 8, 2002) |
| Age (2026) | 23 years old |
| Birthplace | Pennsylvania, USA |
| Mother | Draya Michele (Andraya Michelle Howard), actress, model, entrepreneur |
| Father | Kniko Howard Sr., barber, Pennsylvania |
| Siblings | Jru Scandrick (half-brother, 2016), sister (half-sister with Jalen Green, 2024) |
| Education | Georgia State University, Atlanta (enrolled 2021) |
| Public profile | Low-key Instagram presence (afariiface), private lifestyle |
Who Is Kniko Howard?
Kniko Howard is the eldest son of Draya Michele, a reality television personality, actress, model, and fashion entrepreneur best known for her appearances on VH1’s Basketball Wives LA and her roles in films including The Perfect Match. He was born in Pennsylvania in 2002, when his mother was seventeen years old, and has grown up as the eldest of what is now a family of three children with different fathers.
He is not a public figure in any active sense. He has a small Instagram presence and has attended a limited number of public events with his mother, but he has consistently chosen to stay in the background rather than leverage his famous mother’s platform for personal recognition. He is currently attending Georgia State University in Atlanta, where his mother publicly celebrated his enrolment in 2021.
Draya Michele: Who Kniko’s Mother Is
Understanding Kniko Howard’s story requires understanding who his mother is and the journey she has been on since before he was born. Draya Michele, born Andraya Michelle Howard on January 23, 1985, in Reading, Pennsylvania, grew up in circumstances that were far from privileged. She became pregnant with Kniko at sixteen and gave birth at seventeen, a situation that would have derailed many young people’s futures.
Instead, Draya used the experience as fuel. With support from her mother, she raised Kniko, pursued her ambitions, and eventually broke into entertainment through her appearance on Basketball Wives LA in 2011, the year the show launched on VH1. Her success in reality television opened doors to acting roles and, more significantly, to the fashion business where she built her most lasting professional legacy. Her swimwear brand Mint Swim and her subsequent fashion line Beige & Coco established her as a genuinely successful entrepreneur rather than simply a media personality.
She has also been involved in high-profile relationships, including with former NFL player Orlando Scandrick, with whom she had her second son Jru in 2016, and most recently with NBA player Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets, with whom she welcomed a daughter in May 2024. The significant age gap between Draya, born in 1985, and Jalen Green, born in 2002, attracted considerable media commentary, not least because Green is the same age as Kniko Howard.
Kniko Howard’s Father: The Real Story
For several years after Draya Michele achieved public recognition, the identity of Kniko Howard’s father was a subject of persistent speculation. In 2016, former Basketball Wives star Jennifer Williams publicly claimed that NBA player Gilbert Arenas, who had a brief connection to Draya in 2008, was Kniko’s father. The rumour generated significant media attention, partly because Arenas was a well-known former professional athlete and partly because a 2008 connection would have required Kniko to have been born considerably later than the established 2002 date.
Draya Michele addressed the matter directly and put it to rest. In a public Instagram statement, she confirmed that Kniko’s father is Kniko Howard Sr., a man who was incarcerated when she was seven months pregnant with Kniko. He was sentenced to ten years in prison, which meant he was absent through essentially all of Kniko’s formative childhood years. Draya was explicit that she had never received child support and that the responsibility of raising Kniko had fallen almost entirely on her, with her mother’s support.
She was also explicit in defending Kniko Howard Sr.’s dignity following his release from prison. She described him as a man making an honest living as a barber in Pennsylvania, pushing back against any narrative that would reduce him to simply an absent or irresponsible father. The circumstances of his incarceration meant he was unable to be present rather than unwilling, and Draya’s framing of his post-prison life reflected a refusal to stigmatise him beyond what the facts warranted.
Whether Kniko Howard Sr. has had any involvement in his son’s life since his release is not publicly known. Neither Draya nor Kniko have spoken about their current relationship with him, which is consistent with their general approach to keeping personal family details private.
Growing Up in Draya Michele’s Household
Kniko grew up watching his mother build a public career from the ground up. The early years of that career, when Draya was working to support them both before any television opportunities arrived, meant Kniko experienced the full spectrum of his mother’s ambition and resilience. He saw her work, struggle, and succeed in real time, which may account for some of the groundedness that those who have met him consistently describe.
As Draya’s profile grew, Kniko was occasionally visible at public events alongside her. He attended the premiere of Despicable Me 3 with her and appeared at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Photographs from these appearances show a young man who presents as comfortable and unfazed in environments that would make many people nervous, without any apparent desire to draw attention to himself.
He is the oldest of his mother’s three children, and Draya has spoken about him with consistent pride and affection. She has described him as mature, responsible, and intellectually serious, qualities that align with the decision to attend university and to maintain a private life despite the alternative paths available to him.
Education at Georgia State University
In 2021, Kniko Howard enrolled at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. Draya Michele celebrated the milestone publicly on social media, describing herself as a college mom and expressing genuine pride in her son’s achievement. The choice to attend university in Atlanta rather than remaining in California reflects an independence of direction that speaks well of both the young man and the parenting that produced him.
Georgia State University is a large public research university with a diverse student body and a strong academic reputation across multiple disciplines. Kniko’s specific field of study has not been publicly disclosed, consistent with his general approach to privacy.
His Online Presence and Public Appearances
Kniko Howard maintains a small Instagram account under the username afariiface, where he posts occasional photos from his personal life, including moments with friends and basketball games he has attended. The account has a modest following and the content reflects a young man living an ordinary private life rather than cultivating a public persona.
One particularly notable public appearance came when Draya took Kniko to watch Jalen Green play for the Houston Rockets courtside, an appearance that attracted attention partly because of the later revelation that Green would become romantically involved with his mother. The photograph of Kniko sitting courtside at the game predated any public knowledge of Draya and Green’s relationship, giving it a retrospective irony that social media users noted with considerable enthusiasm.
The Question of Kniko Howard’s Identity
One of the most interesting aspects of Kniko Howard’s story is the question of identity it raises for someone in his position. He shares his name with a father he barely knew. He has a mother who is internationally recognised. He has grown up in circumstances that have been extensively discussed in public without his participation. He has two younger siblings with entirely different fathers, one of whom is now his mother’s partner. And he is the same age as that partner.
Navigating all of this with the apparent equanimity he demonstrates is not nothing. It suggests a young man who has done the psychological work of understanding his own story without being defined or destabilised by any of its more unusual elements. Choosing to attend university, maintaining a private life, and appearing at public events with composure rather than resentment or entitlement all point toward someone who has processed what might have been a difficult set of circumstances with unusual maturity.
Kniko Howard Today
As of 2026, Kniko Howard is 23 years old and continuing his university education or beginning his professional life following graduation. He remains in Atlanta, maintaining the private lifestyle that has characterised his approach to public attention throughout his life. His mother has welcomed a new baby sister for him and his brother Jru, and the family, though complex in its structure, appears to maintain warm connections across its different branches.
The trajectory Kniko has chosen, education over celebrity, privacy over visibility, his own path over the one his mother’s fame would have made easy, is not the most dramatic story in entertainment journalism. But it may be one of the most genuinely admirable.
Frequently Asked Questions About Kniko Howard
Who is Kniko Howard?
Kniko Howard is the eldest son of Draya Michele, born in Pennsylvania in 2002 when his mother was seventeen. He is currently attending Georgia State University in Atlanta and maintains a private life away from the public attention his mother’s career generates.
Who is Kniko Howard’s father?
His father is Kniko Howard Sr., a barber based in Pennsylvania. Draya Michele confirmed in 2016 that Kniko Howard Sr. is the only father of her first son, pushing back against rumours that former NBA player Gilbert Arenas was involved. Kniko Sr. was incarcerated when Draya was seven months pregnant and served approximately ten years in prison.
Does Kniko Howard have siblings?
Yes. He has a younger half-brother, Jru Scandrick, born in April 2016, whose father is former NFL player Orlando Scandrick. He also has a younger half-sister, born in May 2024, whose father is NBA player Jalen Green.
Did Draya Michele raise Kniko alone?
Essentially yes. Draya raised Kniko without child support and with Kniko Sr. incarcerated throughout his early childhood. Her mother provided critical support during those early years. Draya has spoken publicly about raising Kniko as a seventeen-year-old single mother.
Where does Kniko Howard go to university?
He enrolled at Georgia State University in Atlanta in 2021. His mother publicly celebrated the milestone on social media, calling herself a college mom.
Is Kniko Howard the same age as Jalen Green?
Yes. Jalen Green, who began a public relationship with Draya Michele in 2023, was born in 2002, the same year as Kniko Howard. This parallel in age between Draya’s eldest son and her current partner has been widely noted in media coverage of their relationship.