Eli Apple’s mother Annie Apple has a big role in her son’s success in the NFL. Not only did she support her son’s interest, but she herself went through a lot of trial and tribulation to help propel her son to become one of the best out there.
As a young migrant in a new country, Annie sure has done a lot to reach where she is today. In her youth, she went through a terrible abusive relationship, and yet persevered through it all.
Besides, she is also a successful woman on her own. So what does she do for a living? And do you know her sibling is a famous American comedian?
Annie Is From Originally From Ghana
She was born Annie Blackson on June 24, 1974, in Nsaba, Ghana as one of seven children between Kwaku-Nsian Adom Bediako and Beatrice. Though she was born in a Western African country, her mom’s work as a missionary took her to numerous locations all throughout the world including East Africa, Europe, and more.
Whenever the Blackson matriarch was preaching, the siblings would sing. “We were the African Partridge Family without the bus,” said Annie. Due to her mother’s work as a Christian missionary, all of the Blackson clan were raised in a devout religious household.
Besides, Annie’s father Kwaku passed away in 2008. As for her mom, well, she is still alive, as of 2023.
Annie Apple’s Brother Is a Renowned Actor: This Might Surprise You!
She is the youngest sister of Ghanaian-Liberian-American actor Michael Blackson. He is famous for his small yet iconic roles in several advertisements, NBC’s 30 Rock, Next Friday, Meet the Blacks, and Coming 2 America.
From his relationship with Annie, he is the uncle of Eli Apple. He is really supportive of his nephew and openly talks about how proud he feels as his uncle.
However, when the time comes he also makes sure to scold his nephew every now and then. Like back in 2022 during an interview with NFL legend Shannon Sharpe, Michael said his piece regarding Eli’s controversial remark on his former team, the Saints.
Apart from Michael, Annie has four more siblings and some of them live in their home country of Ghana while some live in the States.
Eli Apple’s Mother Annie Achieved the American Dream Thanks To Her Hardwork
Every year more than a million people migrate to the US of A, however, not everyone is able to attain the American Dream. Nevertheless, Annie is one of those migrants who has lived the American dream.
From her humble background in Ghana to earn a great living all on her own, Annie sure has done it, all thanks to her tenacity. When she relocated to the US, they initially settled in Newark, New Jersey, where all of her siblings spent their early childhood.
However, later on, Annie and her family moved to Southwest Philadelphia, from where she received her high school education. Around the time she was still in high school, at the age of 16 she became pregnant with her first child. The situation was awful and yet she didn’t give up and graduated as President of the National Honor Society.
After wrapping up her high school education, she received a scholarship to study at LaSalle University from where she graduated with a degree in Communication and English.
She worked for ESPN And Sports Illustrated
In the late 90s and early 2000s, she worked for NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw as a writer and producer. Apart from that she also worked for NBC’s show, 30 Rock.
Currently, she serves as the CEO/Founder of Heal Her Network. The network is all about helping women who are a victim of domestic abuse. Their About Us page says,
“HealHer Network is a women’s mobile support outreach focusing on the recovery and rebuilding process of domestic violence. Through outreach, empowerment events, and workshops we empower and equip women with tools, resources, support and a safe space to reset, recharge, and rediscover their joy, helping survivors to rebuild their lives and live beyond their wounds.”
In 2016, she joined ESPN’s NFL Countdown as a contributor. The same year she joined SportsIllustrated as one of their columnist.
Aside from all this, she once owned a blog called Survivin America: Making It Through with Humor and Hope. In her now-defunct blog, she used to write about all the problems that exist in society and gave a humorous twist to it.
Eli’s Biological Father was Annie’s First Husband Who was Physically and Mentally Abusive Towards Her
Annie and Eli’s father, who goes by the surname, Woodard, first came across her when she was 16. It was 10 months after she had given birth to her first child, Dane Blackson on 9th September 1991. The man, whom she recalled as a ‘charismatic guy’ at first was Annie’s first abusive relationship.
At first, she believed he was a good guy, considering how he approached her despite knowing that she was a teen mom. However, soon she found that he was an abusive guy who wanted to control her life.
She said,
“I was flattered that he took an interest in me with a kid and all. He told me how beautiful I was. But insisted that I only wear skirts when I was with him because he said I really looked great in skirts and he didn’t want other guys looking at me, especially when he’s not around.”
Three months into their relationship, he hit her for the first time. This was the beginning of an abusive affair. When Annie became pregnant with her first child with him, he forced her to abort which she did. But when she became pregnant for the second time, she didn’t yield to his demand of aborting yet another baby due to which he physically abused her.
When she gave birth to their first child, Devion on 9th May 1993, she went home with staples and stitches on her stomach due to the C-Section operation. Tragically, as soon as she went there, he kicked her in the stomach, removing the stitches.
Annie’s Abusive Husband Asked her to Drop the Unborn Eli As Well
A couple of years later, Annie became pregnant with their second child, Eli, and this time too, her spouse asked her to terminate the baby, and like before she refused, resulting in more domestic abuse.
Then one day in February 1995, she left him and gave birth to Eli on August 9th, 1995. She divorced her abusive husband sometime after Eli’s birth.
Annie Re-Married and Eli Took His Step-Father’s Name
When Eli was only 2 years old, Annie started dating Timothy Tim Apple and they married in 2001. Initially, the pair met while working in a hotel. As soon as he entered the picture, he became really attached to Eli and became a father to him.
Tim used to take Eli to football practice and supported him no matter the obstacle. This is the sole reason that Eli, in 2012, changed his last name to Apple from Woodard. The then Ohio State football player said,
“A wise man once stated, ‘Fatherhood is not biology. Fatherhood is a responsibility. From the time I was 2 years old, my dad, Timothy Apple, has been my father. He’s nurtured, provided, and protected our family.”
Meanwhile, from Annie’s marriage with Tim, they welcomed a daughter, Jordan, born in March 2001. Tim was close to all of Annie’s children and loved all of them as his own.
Annie Divorced Her Second Husband in 2017
After being married for over 16 years, they decided to split. Their divorce was finalized in June of 2016, however, it was a nasty divorce. Though they don’t reveal what made their separation unpleasant, after their divorce was finalized Annie even asked Tim to forfeit Eli’s college championship rings that he gave to his step-father.
It was Annie’s son Dane who told TMZ that she barged into their NJ home with a police officer to take back all of Eli’s memorabilia. The items that she wanted were the 2014 Big Ten and National Champions Rings. Nevertheless, Dane refused to hand over the rings that Eli gifted to Tim.
Annie Apple Is a Millionaire
Thanks to her hard work Annie now enjoys a luxurious life. Her current net worth is $1.5 million. Meanwhile, her son Eli has a total fortune of $5 million.
