Willis was born in Inglewood, California. Her father, John C. Floyd III, was a founder of a faction of the Black Panthers but grew disillusioned by the movement’s infighting.
“My name is actually Fani (fah-nee), Taifa is my middle name, and my last name is Willis. So, my father was a Black Panther, so he was very Afrocentric… my name is Swahili. Fani actually means ‘prosperous,’ and Taifa means ‘people’. We’re not talking about material things in wealth, we’re talking about that stuff that really matters… I always remember my roots, that I come from a prosperous people, which are African people.”
Wakandan royalty no doubt!