Thomas David Black: His Family Has Three Grammy Nominees, Two Satellite Engineers.

Thomas David Black is seventeen years old in 2026. He is a private high school student in the Los Angeles area. His public appearances number in the single digits. His documented on-screen presence consists of YouTube videos gaming with his father and one major film premiere.

That is the entire confirmed public profile of Thomas David Black.

His family background, however, is one of the most creatively dense in American entertainment. His father is Jack Black — comedian, actor, and rock musician. His mother is Tanya Haden — cellist, artist, and singer, and the daughter of jazz legend Charlie Haden. His maternal aunts are both professional musicians. His paternal grandmother helped develop the ground station for the Hubble Space Telescope.

That lineage is documented and verifiable. What Thomas does with any of it is not yet known, and it is not the business of any article to speculate.

One source — DotMagazine — published his height and weight as of July 2025. He was sixteen at the time. Body measurements for a minor child are not appropriate to publish. They are not repeated here.

Quick Facts

Detail	Information
Full name	Thomas David Black (nickname: Tommy)
Born	May 23, 2008
Birthplace	Los Angeles area — Beverly Hills (one source) or Los Angeles (most sources)
Age	17 in 2026
Father	Jack Black (Thomas Jacob Black, born August 28, 1969, Santa Monica, CA)
Mother	Tanya Haden Black (born October 11, 1971, New York City)
Older brother	Samuel “Sammy” Jason Black (born June 10, 2006)
Maternal grandfather	Charlie Haden (Charles Edward Haden, jazz bassist, died 2014)
Maternal grandmother	Ellen David (Wikipedia; one source incorrectly says “Ruth”)
Maternal aunts	Petra Haden and Rachel Haden (triplet sisters of Tanya; both professional musicians)
Paternal grandfather	Thomas William Black (satellite engineer, deceased)
Paternal grandmother	Judith Love Cohen (satellite engineer; worked on Hubble Space Telescope ground station; died 2016)
Parents’ wedding	March 14, 2006, Big Sur, California
Religion	Raised Jewish
YouTube	Jablinski Games (launched December 2018; ~5.5 million subscribers; returned May 14, 2026 after ~3-year gap)
Public appearances	Jumanji: The Next Level premiere (December 2019); Cirque du Soleil “Toruk” (November 2016); Jablinski Games videos
Social media	None confirmed

Born Three Months After His Parents Married

This is one of the most straightforward factual details about Thomas’s family timeline, and it is never remarked upon.

Jack Black and Tanya Haden married on March 14, 2006, in a private ceremony in Big Sur, California. Their first son, Samuel Jason Black, was born on June 10, 2006 — three months later, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Thomas was born on May 23, 2008 — almost exactly two years after Samuel.

The wedding-to-Samuel gap is a documented sequencing fact. It tells you that Tanya was pregnant when they married. No source remarks on this, perhaps because it is entirely unremarkable in 2006. But it is part of the factual timeline that shapes Thomas’s family history.

How His Parents Actually Met — The Confirmed Account

Multiple sources confirm the basic facts of this story, which is unusual in a record this thin.

Jack Black and Tanya Haden both attended Crossroads School — a private school in Santa Monica. Jack saw her there. He was, by his own admission, too intimidated to speak to her.

Jack has said in interviews that the best advice he could give his eighteen-year-old self would be to overcome his shyness and ask her out earlier. He described himself as “kind of stalking” her gigs with The Haden Triplets years later.

They reconnected approximately fifteen years after school — at a mutual friend’s birthday party. They began dating. He proposed in January 2006. They married in March 2006.

The fifteen-year gap between the school encounter and the relationship is confirmed consistently across multiple sources and has been acknowledged by both parties in interviews.

His Mother’s Family — The Part That Is More Interesting Than Most Articles Note

Tanya Haden comes from one of American music’s most documented jazz families.

Her father was Charlie Haden — Charles Edward Haden — a double bass player considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of the twentieth century. He played with Ornette Coleman’s pioneering free jazz quartet. He founded the Liberation Music Orchestra. He won Grammy Awards and taught at the California Institute of the Arts for decades. He died on July 11, 2014, when Thomas was six years old.

Tanya’s mother is Ellen David — confirmed by Wikipedia’s entries on both Tanya and her sisters. At least one secondary source (thebiography.org) incorrectly names the mother as “Ruth.” Ellen David is the correct name per primary-adjacent sourcing.

Tanya is a triplet. Her sisters are Petra Haden and Rachel Haden. Both are professional musicians. Petra has recorded with That Dog, The Decemberists, The Rentals, and has contributed to recordings by Beck, Foo Fighters, and Weezer. Rachel played bass in That Dog. Together the three sisters perform as The Haden Triplets — their debut album appeared in February 2014 on Third Man Records, produced by Ry Cooder. The family also has a brother: Josh Haden, bassist and leader of the band Spain.

Tanya herself is a cellist, singer, and visual artist. She has performed with LA bands including Silversun Pickups. She voiced a character in Kung Fu Panda. She has held art exhibitions at the Rosamund Felsen Gallery in Los Angeles. She created a puppet show called Imaginary Bear.

Thomas David Black’s maternal side is therefore: a legendary jazz bassist grandfather, two professional musician aunts, a triplet-musician mother, and a musical uncle. His exposure to music as a child is not the manufactured kind.

His Father’s Family — The Satellite Engineer Grandmother Nobody Mentions

Jack Black’s parents — Thomas’s paternal grandparents — are almost never the focus of any celebrity article about the Black family. They deserve documentation here.

Jack’s father was Thomas William Black. His mother was Judith Love Cohen, who died in 2016. Both were satellite engineers.

Judith Love Cohen worked on the science ground station for the Hubble Space Telescope. She was also the author of several children’s books in a series about women in science — including a book about herself, aimed at encouraging girls to pursue careers in technology and engineering. On the day Jack Black was born, she reportedly went into labor while at work, finished the mathematical computation she was working on, and then went to the hospital.

Whether that story is fully accurate is difficult to confirm independently. It has been repeated widely enough to be part of the documented family lore.

Jack’s brother Howard Black died of AIDS in 1989 at age thirty-one. Jack was nineteen years old. He has spoken about the impact of that loss. His oldest sibling, Neil Siegel, is an engineer, scientist, and musician.

Thomas David Black has two satellite engineers in his family tree, a jazz giant, a Grammy-winning rock musician, and three professional singer-musicians as aunts and mother. The genetic and cultural argument for creative ability is unusually strong on both sides.

The Jablinski Games Timeline — Thomas’s Documented On-Screen History

The most concrete public record of Thomas’s involvement in anything is the Jablinski Games YouTube channel.

Jack Black launched the channel in December 2018. It features him playing video games, vlogging, and spending time with family — primarily Samuel and Thomas. The boys appear regularly. Thomas has been in dozens of videos.

The channel grew to approximately 5.5 million subscribers.

Then, in July 2024, Jack Black’s Tenacious D bandmate Kyle Gass made a comment at a concert — following an assassination attempt on Donald Trump — that was widely interpreted as wishing harm on Trump. The quote was specific and documented. Jack Black immediately responded by announcing an indefinite pause of Tenacious D activities. He stated publicly that Kyle’s comment was indefensible.

Jablinski Games went quiet around the same time. The last upload before the pause was a Tenacious D music video in May 2023. For approximately three years, the channel produced nothing.

On May 14, 2026, a new video appeared on Jablinski Games titled “WE’RE BACK BABY!!!!” — later retitled “Racing Kevin Hart for PINK SLIPS!!!!” The channel returned.

Wikipedia’s Jack Black article confirms this sequence. Thomas, who was sixteen and then seventeen during this three-year gap, spent that period out of any documented public engagement.

The Beverly Hills vs. Los Angeles Contradiction

This is a small but real geographical dispute in the sources.

DotMagazine — a UK entertainment site — states Thomas was born in Beverly Hills, California.

Most other sources — tightropeusa.com, mysticsclarity.com, DKTimes — say he was born in Los Angeles, California.

Beverly Hills is a separate municipality from the city of Los Angeles. It is located within Los Angeles County but has its own city government, police department, and ZIP codes. Being born in Beverly Hills and being born in Los Angeles are geographically distinct statements.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center — where Samuel was confirmed born — is located in Los Angeles, on Beverly Boulevard. Cedars-Sinai is in Los Angeles proper, not Beverly Hills, despite its proximity to that city’s border.

If Thomas was also born at Cedars-Sinai, the correct city is Los Angeles. If he was born at a different facility within Beverly Hills city limits, the DotMagazine claim might be accurate. No source names the hospital for Thomas’s birth.

The distinction is minor in practical terms. It is real as a geographic statement.

What Sources Are Fabricating About a Minor

This section is brief and blunt.

DotMagazine published Thomas’s height as approximately 5 feet and his weight as 99 pounds as of July 2025. He was sixteen years old. These are body measurements for a minor child with no confirmed source. No medical record, no self-disclosure, no parent interview provided these figures. They were published without justification.

They are not repeated here.

Celebsworlds.com describes Thomas as having “a great mind to understand and create next-level IQ memes” and says he “used his Martial arts skills and injured himself.” These claims have no source. The martial arts interest is confirmed elsewhere, but the injury detail is not documented in any credible account.

Multiple sites describe Thomas as “beginning to step into his own spotlight” and having “a spark that reflects his father’s passion.” These are marketing sentences about a teenager who has not chosen public life. He has appeared in family YouTube videos and on a few red carpets. He has taken no action that constitutes “stepping into a spotlight.”

What The Three-Year Jablinski Gap Means for Thomas’s Context

This is worth noting once.

Thomas was between fourteen and seventeen years old during the three-year gap in Jablinski Games content. These are formative years for any teenager. He spent them entirely outside any public engagement with social media or entertainment.

Whether the Tenacious D controversy affected him personally, whether the family experienced difficulty during that period, or whether Thomas has any views on any of it is not documented anywhere. These are private family matters involving a minor.

The Jablinski Games return in May 2026 — when Thomas was seventeen, almost eighteen — suggests the family has chosen to re-engage with that platform. What role Thomas plays in the new content is not known at time of writing.

What Is Actually Known vs. What Is Not

Confirmed from credible sources:

• Born May 23, 2008
• Raised in the Los Angeles area; Beverly Hills or LA city are the two claimed birthplaces
• Father: Jack Black; Mother: Tanya Haden (born October 11, 1971, New York City)
• Older brother: Samuel “Sammy” Jason Black (born June 10, 2006)
• Parents married March 14, 2006, Big Sur; engaged January 2006
• Maternal grandfather: Charlie Haden (jazz bassist, died July 11, 2014)
• Maternal grandmother: Ellen David (Wikipedia; “Ruth” in one source is incorrect)
• Maternal aunts: Petra Haden and Rachel Haden (Haden Triplets)
• Paternal grandmother: Judith Love Cohen (satellite engineer; Hubble Telescope; died 2016)
• Raised Jewish
• Interests: martial arts, video games, music
• Appeared in Jablinski Games videos since December 2018
• Appeared at Jumanji: The Next Level premiere, December 2019
• Appeared at Cirque du Soleil “Toruk,” November 2016
• Jablinski Games returned May 14, 2026 after ~3-year gap

Unclear or not publicly documented:

• Which school he attends
• Any specific achievements, activities, or future plans
• Any views on his family’s entertainment history
• His precise height (a published figure of 5 feet is likely outdated for a 17-year-old boy and was sourced irresponsibly)

Wrong in at least one source:

• Maternal grandmother named “Ruth” (ThebiographY.org) — Wikipedia and Petra Haden’s page confirm Ellen David
• Body weight of 99 lbs (DotMagazine) — unverifiable, inappropriate for a minor
• Thomas described as “stepping into a spotlight” — no evidence supports this

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FAQ — 12 Real Questions

1. Who is Thomas David Black?
He is the younger son of actor and musician Jack Black and artist and cellist Tanya Haden. Born May 23, 2008, he is seventeen years old in 2026 and lives privately in the Los Angeles area with his family.

2. What is he known for?
He is known as the younger son of Jack Black. He has appeared in family YouTube videos on the Jablinski Games channel since 2018 and has attended a small number of public events alongside his parents and brother.

3. Who is his mother, Tanya Haden?
An American artist, cellist, and singer born October 11, 1971, in New York City. She is the daughter of jazz bassist Charlie Haden and the triplet sister of musicians Petra and Rachel Haden. She has performed with various LA bands, voiced characters in Kung Fu Panda and The Muppets, and held visual art exhibitions at the Rosamund Felsen Gallery.

4. Who was Charlie Haden?
Thomas’s maternal grandfather. Charles Edward Haden was a jazz double bassist widely regarded as one of the most influential jazz musicians of the twentieth century. He played with Ornette Coleman, founded the Liberation Music Orchestra, and won Grammy Awards. He died on July 11, 2014.

5. Who is Thomas’s paternal grandmother?
Judith Love Cohen — a satellite engineer who worked on the ground station for the Hubble Space Telescope. She also wrote a series of children’s books about women in science and engineering. She died in 2016.

6. What is Jablinski Games?
A YouTube channel launched by Jack Black in December 2018. It features Jack playing video games and vlogging, frequently alongside Samuel and Thomas. The channel grew to approximately 5.5 million subscribers. It went quiet in mid-2023 and returned on May 14, 2026.

7. Why did Jablinski Games stop posting?
After Tenacious D bandmate Kyle Gass made a controversial comment at a concert in July 2024, Jack Black announced an indefinite pause of Tenacious D activities. The Jablinski Games channel also went quiet during this period. The channel returned in May 2026.

8. What public events has Thomas attended?
He appeared at the Jumanji: The Next Level premiere in December 2019, aged eleven. He appeared with his family at the Cirque du Soleil “Toruk” show at Staples Center in November 2016, aged eight. He has appeared in Jablinski Games videos over several years.

9. Does Thomas have social media?
No confirmed public accounts on any platform.

10. Is he interested in entertainment?
Documented interests include martial arts, video games, and music. Whether he intends to pursue entertainment professionally is not known and is not the subject of any documented statement.

11. Where was he born?
Most sources say Los Angeles, California. DotMagazine says Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills is a separate city from Los Angeles, both within LA County. No hospital is named for his birth in any source, so the precise location cannot be confirmed from public records.

12. What is his grandmother’s name on his mother’s side?
Ellen David — confirmed by Wikipedia’s articles on both Tanya Haden and Petra Haden. At least one secondary source calls the mother “Ruth,” which is incorrect according to the more reliable sourcing.