Xen Martin has spent most of his life outside the spotlight his parents built their careers in, yet his story has quietly become one of the most talked-about parts of his mother’s public life. Tisha Campbell, best known for playing Gina Waters-Payne on the sitcom “Martin,” has spoken openly for over a decade about raising a son with autism. That son is Xen Martin, her firstborn with ex-husband Duane Martin, and his path from a toddler who doctors feared would never speak to a young adult chasing a career in wildlife conservation has struck a chord with fans far beyond Hollywood circles.
This piece pulls together what’s actually known about Xen Martin: his early diagnosis, his parents’ divorce, his education, and the advocacy work his mother has built around his experience with autism.
Who Is Xen Martin?
Xen Martin was born on August 8, 2001, in Los Angeles, California, making him 24 years old in 2026. He’s the elder of two sons born to Tisha Campbell and actor Duane Martin, who married in 1996 and split in 2018. His younger brother, Ezekiel Czar Martin, arrived in 2009. Xen carries his father’s surname and, according to Campbell, his mother’s determination in equal measure.
He grew up mostly in Los Angeles, raised alongside Ezekiel in a household that later became defined by his parents’ commitment to autism advocacy rather than red-carpet appearances. Campbell has described Xen as a Leo who loved animals from a young age, a detail that later shaped his entire academic direction.
The Autism Diagnosis That Changed Everything
Campbell noticed something different in her son when he was still an infant. Accounts vary slightly on the exact age, with some placing it around 18 months and others closer to two years, but the family agrees on the outcome: doctors diagnosed Xen with autism spectrum disorder before he turned two. Campbell has said she visited several specialists before getting a clear answer, and the news devastated her at first.
Doctors reportedly told Campbell and Martin that their son might never speak or live independently. That prognosis haunted Campbell for years. She’s since described mourning the future she had imagined for her child and having to rebuild her expectations from scratch. Xen began speech therapy at roughly 17 months old, even before doctors formally confirmed the diagnosis, and his parents leaned on early intervention rather than waiting for certainty.
Campbell has also weighed in publicly on what she believes may have contributed to her son’s condition, pointing to the timing of a routine vaccination he received as an infant. She’s stressed she isn’t anti-vaccine, framing her concern instead around safety and timing, though medical researchers have found no established link between vaccines and autism.
From Silence to Public Speaking
The gap between that early prognosis and Xen’s adult life is where his story gains its emotional weight. Campbell has shared that her son once couldn’t tolerate physical touch, describing how a simple hug felt painful to him. Years of therapy, patience, and structured routines slowly changed that.
By his teenage years, Xen was communicating fluently enough to take on a public speaking class, a milestone Campbell called deeply ironic given how his story started. She posted proudly online after he earned an A in the course, telling followers that professionals had once predicted he’d never talk at all. That moment became one of the clearest public markers of how far he’d come.
College, Career Goals, and a Love of Animals
Xen’s ambitions have centered on animals for as long as his mother can remember. Campbell has said he started talking about attending Moorpark College, home to the well-known Exotic Animal Training and Management program and teaching zoo in Ventura County, California, when he was just eight years old.
That early goal stuck. Xen graduated high school in 2020 and later enrolled at Moorpark College to study toward a career in animal care and conservation. Campbell has said someone once discouraged him from applying, insisting the program wouldn’t accept him, but he applied anyway and got in on his own merit. She’s since celebrated milestones along the way, including a post noting he’d landed work with one of his professors.
Xen has held down part-time jobs alongside his coursework, something Campbell frames as central to his broader goal: independence. Friends and family close to the family describe him as someone determined to build a life on his own terms rather than lean on his parents’ résumé.
Tisha Campbell and Duane Martin’s Divorce
Xen’s childhood played out against the backdrop of his parents’ long and, at times, turbulent marriage. Campbell and Martin wed in August 1996 after several years of dating and stayed together through more than two decades of raising two sons. In February 2018, Campbell filed for divorce, telling People magazine at the time that after 27 years together, including their years of dating, the decision was painful but necessary.
The split turned contentious. Campbell later alleged that Martin had been physically and emotionally abusive throughout their marriage and sought a restraining order in early 2019, which she eventually dropped. She also accused him of hiding joint funds, an allegation tied to a separate bankruptcy case the couple had filed years earlier. Martin denied the abuse claims. The divorce was finalized in December 2020, and Campbell has since spoken about the financial hardship that followed, including a period when she had only a few dollars to her name around the holidays.
Through all of it, Campbell and Martin maintained joint custody of their sons. Campbell has repeatedly credited her children, especially the resilience she learned from raising Xen, as the reason she pulled through that period of her life.
Tisha Campbell’s Advocacy Work
Xen’s diagnosis pushed his mother into advocacy long before his story reached headlines. In 2011, Campbell co-founded Colored My Mind, a nonprofit aimed at raising autism awareness within communities of color, where the condition is often under-discussed and underdiagnosed. The organization produced a short film of the same name, which screened at the MegaFest International Faith and Film Festival in 2013 and featured fellow actors Blair Underwood and Nicole Ari Parker.
Campbell also co-authored a children’s book, “My Brother Doesn’t Want to Play: Autism from a Sibling’s Perspective,” designed to help other children understand what it’s like growing up alongside a sibling on the spectrum, a nod to Ezekiel’s experience as Xen’s younger brother.
More recently, Campbell has gone further, writing a memoir titled “The A Word: A Mother’s Journey Through Autism and Love,” which chronicles her experience raising Xen from diagnosis through adulthood. She’s described the book as the product of every fight she took on for her son, calling him the reason she kept going through the hardest chapters of her life.
Where Xen Martin Stands Today
As of 2026, Xen Martin is in his mid-twenties and continuing his studies with an eye toward a career protecting wildlife, a goal that hasn’t wavered since childhood. He keeps a low public profile, and most of what the public knows about his life comes through his mother’s social media posts and interviews rather than any platform of his own. Campbell has said she’s proud he never leaned on the family name to get where he is, applying to school and landing work opportunities through his own effort.
Ezekiel, meanwhile, has grown up in his older brother’s shadow in a different sense, watching his mother build a public mission around Xen’s diagnosis while also being part of the sibling story Campbell wrote about in her children’s book.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Xen Martin?
Xen Martin was born on August 8, 2001, making him 24 years old in 2026.
Who are Xen Martin’s parents?
He’s the son of actress and singer Tisha Campbell and actor Duane Martin, who were married from 1996 until their divorce was finalized in 2020.
At what age was Xen Martin diagnosed with autism?
Campbell has said her son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder sometime between 18 and 23 months old, after doctors initially struggled to identify what was different about his development.
Does Xen Martin have any siblings?
Yes. He has one younger brother, Ezekiel Czar Martin, born in 2009.
What is Xen Martin studying?
Xen has pursued studies at Moorpark College in California, working toward a career in animal care and wildlife conservation.
Has Tisha Campbell written about her son’s autism?
Yes. She co-founded the nonprofit Colored My Mind, co-authored a children’s book on autism from a sibling’s perspective, and released a memoir, “The A Word: A Mother’s Journey Through Autism and Love,” centered on Xen’s diagnosis and growth.
A Story Still Being Written
Xen Martin’s life so far reads less like a celebrity-kid footnote and more like a case study in what early intervention, family support, and stubborn determination can accomplish. He was never expected to speak, let alone stand in front of a classroom and deliver a passing grade in public speaking. He wasn’t expected to hold a job, chase a college degree, or work alongside a professor in the field he’s dreamed about since childhood. He’s done all three.
His mother’s advocacy has turned his early struggles into a broader conversation about autism awareness, particularly within communities where the condition still carries stigma and gets diagnosed late. Whether or not Xen ever steps fully into the public eye, the groundwork his story has laid for that conversation already stands on its own.
