Kyla Pratt built one of the most recognizable faces of early 2000s television as the sharp and spirited Breanna Barnes on the sitcom One on One. More than two decades later, she is revisiting that chapter of her career from a vantage point she could not have imagined at the time, seated on a couch beside her own daughters, watching it all over again.
Pratt, now 39, spoke at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards in Los Angeles on March 12, 2026, about what the family rewatch experience has actually been like. The event drew a celebrated group of attendees including Zendaya, Michael B. Jordan, and Teyana Taylor, but Pratt’s candid reflections on motherhood and nostalgia made for one of the more quietly resonant conversations of the evening.
A pandemic rewatch that came with surprises
The family viewings began during the pandemic, when One on One became available on Netflix and Pratt saw an opportunity to share the show with her daughters, Lyric and Liyah, while they were all spending more time at home. It seemed like a natural fit at the time. What she had not fully accounted for was how differently she would receive certain scenes now that she was watching as a parent rather than as a performer.
One on One aired from 2001 to 2006 and followed a teenage girl adjusting to life with her single father, played by Flex Alexander, after moving in with him in Baltimore. The show was beloved for its humor and warmth, but it also ventured into the kind of storylines that came with being a teen-centered comedy of that era.
Pratt recalled that filming some of those more mature moments years ago had felt lighthearted on set, even as some of her castmates were visibly uncomfortable with the material. Watching those same scenes play out in her living room with her daughters sitting next to her was an entirely different experience.
Turning awkward into a conversation
Rather than reaching for the remote, Pratt said her instinct was to stay present and keep the atmosphere open. Her approach to parenting leans toward accessibility and dialogue, and she has been deliberate about making herself a safe person for her daughters to bring questions to rather than having them seek answers elsewhere.
She acknowledged that holding that composure while something unexpected plays out on screen requires effort, but she views those moments as opportunities rather than interruptions. The goal, as she described it, is to make sure her daughters feel comfortable enough to ask whatever is on their minds.
Her girls have watched a significant portion of her body of work over the years, including her beloved role in The Proud Family, though Pratt noted that not everything in her catalog carries the same parental stamp of approval it once seemed to.
Building her daughters up every day
The conversation at the Essence event extended beyond nostalgia. Pratt also spoke about what she considers one of her most important responsibilities as a mother, which is making sure her daughters move through the world with a deep and unshakeable sense of their own worth.
She described a cultural environment that she believes is actively working to diminish that sense of self in young women, whether through standards tied to appearance, body type, or presentation. Her response to that pressure is daily and deliberate. She reminds her daughters of their value consistently and said she is grateful to have a partner who does the same.
Pratt shares her daughters with longtime partner Danny Kirkpatrick, a songwriter and tattoo artist the two have been together since around 2008. She spoke about the importance of both parents reinforcing that message together, framing it as something her daughters need to hear not occasionally but every single day.
A career still worth celebrating
The Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards have long served as a space to honor achievement and legacy, and Pratt’s presence at the event was a reminder of how much ground she has covered since her One on One days. The squirm-worthy rewatch moments are, in their own way, a testament to a career full enough to revisit, and complicated enough to keep the conversations going.
