All About Victoria Monét's Daughter, Hazel Monét Gaines

Victoria Monét’s daughter is the youngest person to ever be nominated for a Grammy Award at 2 years old

Victoria Monét is not only a rising star herself, but she is raising one: her daughter, Hazel.

The “On My Mama” singer welcomed Hazel on Feb. 21, 2021, with her fitness trainer boyfriend John Gaines. When she was just 2½ years old, Hazel became the youngest Grammy Award nominee of all time when she was nominated alongside her mother for her feature on Monét’s track titled “Hollywood.”

"It's a really big deal. I think it's another full circle moment for me because during pregnancy, everything was really scary," Monét told PEOPLE of her and her daughter’s accomplishment in December 2023. "People were telling me how bad of a career move it could be, how detrimental to everything it could be."

However, having her baby was anything but, as she racked up seven nominations herself — making her the second most nominated artist at the 2024 Grammys.

From spending time in the studio with her mom to being the youngest person to be nominated for a Grammy, here’s everything to know about Victoria Monét’s daughter Hazel.

She was born in February 2021

Monét first announced she was expecting a baby with her long-term partner, Gaines, in December 2020.

“I’m so happy to share that I’ve been promoted to the title just above Queen... Mom,” Monét wrote in the caption of her since-deleted Instagram announcement.

“Two hearts beat inside of me now...That’s more love. Two brains and two souls...that’s so much power. Really been feelin like the ultra super Victoria cause my body is doing such miraculous work. This is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me and I can’t wait to meet my tiny soul mate earth side!!!” she added.

A couple of months later, Hazel was born on Feb. 21, 2021, which Monét shared in an Instagram post of her holding her daughter’s little feet.

"Hazel Monét Gaines 🤎 2/21/21," she captioned the since-deleted picture. "Mommy and Daddy love you so much!!! ✨🧸Welcome to the world 🧸✨."

Monét experienced postpartum depression after giving birth

Following the birth of her daughter, Monét experienced a bout of postpartum depression, causing her to feel “lonely.”

"I went through a phase, to be honest, where I was going through postpartum depression," she told Pop Sugar in August 2023. "It's really a lonely place that's not talked about too much. People mention it when you get pregnant but you may be as little as depressed afterward, and to the depth and how you pull yourself out of it, there's no blueprint to that."

In an interview with Self in September 2023, Monét added that she also struggled to accept her body post-baby, putting pressure on herself to look a certain way quickly after giving birth.

“I was very hard on myself, and just judging so much and worrying about what I used to look like and what I used to have,” she said. “It’s just all living in the past, which is the setup [for feeling like a failure]. [But] you have to think forward. It’s been a battle to be okay with whatever size I am at the time.”

She told Pop Sugar that she ultimately relied on the “great community of other moms” around her, including her own mom, to “really work through” it.

Hazel inspired her mom’s album — and was featured on it

Monét was pregnant and nursing for much of the time she was recording her Grammy-nominated album Jaguar II – and Hazel served as a lot of the inspiration behind it.

"Having a baby around that views everything as brand new can really re-inspire you and make you appreciate certain things that you may have taken for granted, like rainfall, or a little butterfly, or any of the things that we see so much that we forget how beautiful they are," the “Hollywood” singer told Pop Sugar.

In an interview with PEOPLE in July 2023, she added that watching her daughter fall in love with music for the first time and learn about it made her experience making songs through fresh eyes.

“I see her learning rhythm, trying to catch different cadences and what she's attracted to in songs,” she said of her "gifted" daughter. “I just really get re-inspired by that innocence and that curiosity about music.”

Hazel even made an appearance on the album in the track “Hollywood,” Monét’s collaboration with Earth, Wind, & Fire.

Hazel has gotten her mom into trouble

However, it appeared Hazel learned her mom’s music perhaps too well, especially some of the less age-appropriate songs. Monét joked with PEOPLE that she needed to introduce Hazel to the “Kidz Bop” version of some of her music, including a song called “Smoke” which happens to be one of Hazel’s favorites.

“When I took her to this restaurant, we had gotten out of the car and she was in her stroller and she was trying to tell me, ‘I want to go back in the car and listen to Smoke.’ But she was saying, ‘Mommy, let's go smoke. Go smoke.’ I'm like, ‘Oh my God, this sounds terrible to everyone right now,’ ” Monét told PEOPLE. “I just had to give everyone a disclaimer like, ‘We do not smoke together. I have a song called "Smoke" that she has heard.’ ”

The little girl, however, isn’t scared to voice her opinion regardless of what people may think. Calling her “stubborn,” Monét said the toddler was going through a phase in which she liked to say “no” to everything.

"Right now, her favorite word is no," she told PEOPLE in December 2023. "She stands on what she wants. So, I think she's going to be a great businesswoman. She's going to be a really amazing artist. She's going to have her own vision, definitely very creative, and she's got a voice on her for sure."

Monét does her best to juggle being a mom and an artist

Though she is incredibly busy with work, Monét told PEOPLE that being a mom to her daughter always comes first, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to find the balance of both.

"I feel like I'm in Cirque du Soleil. The best thing I can do for balance is really to bring her into my world. So, I love when she's at the shows," she said. "I love when she's in the studio. I love when she's at the events because it feels like I've combined my worlds and I think that's the best ... I'm not in two places at once."

She added that she’s been able to maintain a balance thanks to her support system from her team to her partner.

"Sometimes if I'm at work, my heart is with her,” she said. “So, I love when they come together and I could just be, but I definitely have a great team that's helping me balance everything and a great partner that's helping keep the family sane and going and combats any scheduling complications. [He's] a great dad."

She is the youngest person ever to be nominated for a Grammy

Hazel became the youngest Grammy nominee in December 2023 when “Hollywood” was nominated for best traditional R&B performance. Despite the major accomplishment, Monét shared that Hazel was more focused on watching the “Baby Shark” song on a phone when she found out.

“I’m so proud of her, but she has no idea," she told Billboard.

Though she may not fully understand the achievement yet, Monét said she would explain it to the little girl when she was older.

“She’s like, kind of panicking because she doesn’t know why we’re all screaming. I know I’ll be able to explain it to her when she gets older, and she’ll definitely appreciate it because she’s already into music and is starting to write songs unknowingly," she said. "She’s making potty songs and all that kind of stuff. So I’m super excited that this will be something that she has forever."

She attended the 2024 Grammys with her parents

In February 2024, Monét walked the red carpet with Gaines and Hazel before taking home the Grammys for best R&B album and best new artist. The mother-daughter duo wore coordinating, custom Versace gowns for the special occasion.

A month after the awards, however, Monét admitted she would not be taking her daughter again anytime soon, since she wasn't too thrilled the first time.

"The last carpet was a disaster, so I think we're gonna give it a couple years," she told ET.

She did add that she will still bring Hazel to the studio, though. "She already is Grammy-nominated so it sounds about right, you know?" she said.

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