Shikiri Hightower is an American family figure known for her connection to former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson. She later became known as Shikiri Hightower-Gaskin after marrying Bela Gaskin and rebuilding her life.
She gained attention through her marriage to Keyshawn Johnson and their two children, Maia and Keyshawn Jr. Her family later expanded with daughters Maya Denise and Monique Bella with Bela Gaskin.
This biography explores Shikiri Hightower’s early life, education, marriages, children, family experiences, career connections, and personal life. It also looks closely at the different paths followed by her four children.
Quick Bio
| Personal Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Known Name | Shikiri Hightower-Gaskin |
| Known As | Shikiri Hightower |
| Nationality | American |
| Estimated Birth Year | Around 1976 |
| Education | University of Southern California |
| Former Husband | Keyshawn Johnson |
| Marriage to Keyshawn | February 1998 |
| Divorce | 2002 |
| Current Husband | Bela Gaskin |
| Children | Four |
| Son | Keyshawn Johnson Jr. |
| Daughters | Maia, Maya Denise, Monique Bella |
| Known For | Former wife of Keyshawn Johnson |
| Business Connection | Hightower Gaskin Electrical Solutions |
| Net Worth | Not reliably known |
Early Life and Background
Shikiri Hightower has kept details about her childhood and early family background away from wider attention. Her exact birthday and birthplace have not become major parts of her public profile, and little is known about her parents or siblings.
Information surrounding the birth of her oldest daughter provides some insight into her age. Shikiri was reportedly 19 years old when Maia was born in December 1995. This places her birth around 1976.
Her early adulthood included major responsibilities. She was attending college while becoming a young mother, and her family soon experienced greater attention as Keyshawn Johnson’s football career developed rapidly during the mid-1990s.
Shikiri Hightower’s College Years at USC
Shikiri Hightower attended the University of Southern California, better known as USC. Her college years were an important stage of her early adult life and connected her with one of California’s best-known universities.
She was a sophomore at USC when her first daughter, Maia, was born in December 1995. Shikiri therefore balanced her college life with the new responsibilities that came with becoming a young mother.
USC also played an important role in Keyshawn Johnson’s football journey. Shikiri’s time at the university remains an important part of her educational background and personal story.
Shikiri Hightower and Keyshawn Johnson’s Marriage
Shikiri Hightower married Keyshawn Johnson in February 1998. Their relationship developed during an important period in his football journey, as he had already moved from college success at USC into a highly visible professional career in the NFL.
Their family relationship began before their wedding. They welcomed daughter Maia in December 1995 and later had their son, Keyshawn Johnson Jr., in June 1998. Together, they experienced parenthood while Keyshawn’s professional career continued to attract national attention.
Their marriage lasted around four years and ended in 2002. After separating, both eventually entered new relationships and continued building their respective family lives.
Who Is Keyshawn Johnson?
Keyshawn Johnson is a retired American football wide receiver who became one of the recognizable players of his era. He built his reputation at USC before entering professional football as one of the most highly valued prospects in the country.
The New York Jets selected Keyshawn with the first overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft. During his professional career, he also represented the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, and Carolina Panthers before eventually leaving professional football.
After his playing career, Keyshawn remained connected to sports through television and media work. He later married Jennifer Conrad and expanded his family, while maintaining his connection with the children he shared with Shikiri.
Shikiri Hightower’s Children
Shikiri Hightower is the mother of four children who belong to two different chapters of her family life. With Keyshawn Johnson, she welcomed Maia Keyanna Hightower-Johnson and Keyshawn Johnson Jr. She later had two more daughters with Bela Gaskin.
Her younger daughters are Maya Denise Gaskin and Monique Bella Hightower-Gaskin. Together, the four siblings form a blended family with different interests, experiences, and individual paths as they have grown.
Motherhood is an important part of Shikiri’s story. Her children have brought moments of achievement and happiness as well as the heartbreaking loss of her eldest daughter, Maia, in 2021.
Shikiri Hightower and Bela Gaskin’s Married Life
After her marriage to Keyshawn Johnson ended, Shikiri Hightower started a new chapter with Bela Gaskin. She later married Bela and began using the name Shikiri Hightower-Gaskin in her family life.
Shikiri and Bela married around August 2009. In August 2021, they celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary, showing that their relationship had continued for more than a decade.
The couple has two daughters together, Maya Denise Gaskin and Monique Bella Hightower-Gaskin. Their marriage expanded Shikiri’s family and brought her four children together as part of a blended family.
Maya Denise Gaskin
Maya Denise Gaskin is the older daughter of Shikiri Hightower and Bela Gaskin. Born in October 2003, she developed interests that took her into pageants, choreography, education, and other creative areas while growing into her own public identity.
Maya gained wider recognition after earning the Miss Arizona Teen USA 2022 title. She went on to represent Arizona during the Miss Teen USA 2022 competition held in Reno, Nevada, giving her experience on a larger national pageant stage.
She has also been described as America’s Most Beautiful Teen 2023, a choreographer, and a University of Arizona School of Journalism student. These achievements distinguish her individual path within the family.
Monique Bella Hightower-Gaskin
Monique Bella Hightower-Gaskin is the younger daughter of Shikiri Hightower and Bela Gaskin. Her birth is placed around July 2010, and she is the youngest among Shikiri’s four children, following Maia, Keyshawn Jr., and Maya Denise.
Monique has shown an interest in performing arts, particularly musical theatre. In 2022, she reportedly appeared as Beauty in a production titled Beauty and the Soulful Beast, offering an early example of her involvement with stage performance and creative activities.
Shikiri has also shared family moments connected with Monique’s theatre experiences. As the youngest child, Monique remains in an earlier stage of developing her education, interests, and future direction.
Shikiri Hightower’s Career and Business Connection
Shikiri Hightower has not built her public identity around an entertainment or sports career. Instead, her name has mainly attracted attention through her family relationships, while another part of her later life has been connected with business activities alongside Bela Gaskin.
Shikiri and Bela have been associated with Hightower Gaskin Electrical Solutions in California. Bela works within the electrical field in the San Francisco Bay Area, linking their family with professional electrical services outside the celebrity and professional sports world.
Shikiri’s exact responsibilities within the operation have remained less visible. Still, the business connection provides another dimension to her life beyond being Keyshawn Johnson’s former wife and a mother.
Shikiri Hightower’s Public Appearances
Shikiri has generally maintained a quieter public profile, although she has appeared at events connected with her former husband and their shared interests. One notable appearance occurred in Beverly Hills, California, during October 2004, after her marriage to Keyshawn had ended.
Shikiri and Keyshawn attended an event associated with the Keyshawn & Shikiri Johnson Education Fund. Their participation reflected a connection that extended beyond their previous marriage and included involvement with an educational initiative carrying both of their names.
Outside occasional appearances of this kind, Shikiri has largely avoided building a celebrity-centered public image. Family milestones and relationships have remained the strongest themes surrounding her name.
Shikiri Hightower’s Social Media Presence
Shikiri Hightower has used social media mainly as a place to share meaningful family moments rather than to create a highly promotional celebrity profile. Her posts have offered occasional glimpses into her relationships with her children and important family occasions.
Her online activity has included birthday messages for Keyshawn Johnson Jr. and updates connected with Maya Denise and Monique Bella. Following Maia’s death, social media also became a place where Shikiri could remember and honor her eldest daughter.
This family-centered approach matches her wider public image. Although her connections have brought public interest, Shikiri appears to place much greater attention on motherhood, memories, family achievements, and personal milestones.
Shikiri Hightower’s Net Worth
Shikiri Hightower’s exact personal net worth is not known. Unlike her former husband, whose professional football and media careers naturally attracted financial attention, Shikiri has lived a much less commercially visible life and has not centered her identity around celebrity earnings.
Her connection with Hightower Gaskin Electrical Solutions provides some insight into the business side of her later life. However, business involvement alone does not provide enough information to calculate a person’s individual wealth, income, investments, property, or other financial assets.
For this reason, there is no reliable figure that accurately represents Shikiri’s personal fortune. Her financial life remains largely private rather than publicly documented.
Life as a Mother in a Blended Family
One of the strongest themes in Shikiri Hightower’s biography is motherhood. Her four children came from two relationships, creating a blended family that connects different parents, siblings, experiences, and stages of her personal life over several decades.
Maia and Keyshawn Jr. were born from her relationship with Keyshawn Johnson. Maya Denise and Monique Bella later joined the family through her marriage to Bela Gaskin. Each child has followed a different personal path and developed individual interests.
Their stories include football, pageants, journalism, choreography, theatre, family celebrations, and painful loss. Through these experiences, Shikiri’s biography has become closely connected with the changing lives of her children.
Final Thoughts
Shikiri Hightower is best known through her relationship with Keyshawn Johnson, but her biography contains several important family chapters. From attending USC and becoming a young mother to building a blended family, her life has changed considerably over the years.
She shares Maia and Keyshawn Jr. with Keyshawn Johnson and later welcomed Maya Denise and Monique Bella with Bela Gaskin. Her children have followed different paths, while Maia’s death in 2021 brought profound loss to the family.
Today, Shikiri Hightower-Gaskin remains primarily associated with motherhood, family life, her marriage to Bela, and the experiences shared across her four children.
FAQs
Who is Shikiri Hightower?
Shikiri Hightower, also known as Shikiri Hightower-Gaskin, is best known as the former wife of retired NFL player Keyshawn Johnson. She is also a mother of four children and is currently married to Bela Gaskin.
How old is Shikiri Hightower?
Shikiri Hightower was reportedly 19 when her oldest daughter, Maia, was born in December 1995. This places her estimated birth year around 1976, although her exact date of birth is not included in available details.
Who is Shikiri Hightower’s husband?
Shikiri Hightower is married to Bela Gaskin. She previously married former NFL player Keyshawn Johnson in February 1998, and their marriage ended in 2002. Shikiri and Bela later built a blended family together.
How many children does Shikiri Hightower have?
Shikiri Hightower has four children: Maia Keyanna Hightower-Johnson, Keyshawn Johnson Jr., Maya Denise Gaskin, and Monique Bella Hightower-Gaskin. Her children come from her relationships with Keyshawn Johnson and Bela Gaskin.
What is Shikiri Hightower’s net worth?
Shikiri Hightower’s exact net worth is not reliably known. She has been connected with Hightower Gaskin Electrical Solutions alongside Bela Gaskin, but detailed information about her personal income, assets, and overall wealth is unavailable.
