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Brittany Bell’s three kids with Nick Cannon shaped her doctorate
June 9, 2026Updated June 10, 2026, 11:59 a.m. ET
Brittany Bell, the mother of three of Nick Cannon’s 12 children, earned her doctorate degree with a fitting dissertation: research about fathers of multiple children with different women.
Bell, a model, earned a doctor of psychology degree from Alliant University in May, she shared on Instagram.
Her dissertation, titled “Black Fathering and the Experiences of the Adult Child With Multiple Siblings From Different Women,” focused on people who have several siblings from the same father but different mothers.
The former Miss Guam titleholder and Cannon have three children together: Golden, 9, Powerful, 5, and Rise, 3.
Cannon also shares twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-wife Mariah Carey, twins Zion and Zillion and daughter Beautiful with Abby De La Rosa, daughter Halo and late son Zen with Alyssa Scott, son Legendary with Bre Tiesi and daughter Onyx with LaNisha Cole.
Brittany Bell dedicates doctorate dissertation to kids with Nick Cannon
Bell dedicated her dissertation to her children, who she called the “heart of everything I do.”
“You are my reason, my grounding force, and my greatest source of strength. I love you,” she wrote in the dedication.
She also dedicated the study to “every man and woman who chooses to break patterns that no longer serve them and continue to rise in the pursuit of healing, growth, and self-definition.”
The research aimed at investigating “the lived experiences of adult males fathered by Black men who did not reside in the home and who fathered multiple children with different women,” according to the abstract.
The 39-year-old later said in a February 2025 interview on the “Change Your Brain Every Day” podcast that her research topic was inspired, in part, by her own experience with her father, who died by suicide, as well as her stepfather.
Brittany Bell jokes that doctorate dissertation is ‘coincidental’
Bell, who also has a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and a master’s degree from Pepperdine University, spoke about her doctoral dissertation in the February 2025 interview.
“Right now my dissertation topic is a phenomenological study on Black fathering ā how coincidental,” she said at the time.
“Sounds a little autobiographical,” said Dr. Daniel Amen, to which Bell responded, “Yeah, isn’t it?”
But the former NBA cheerleader told Amen that the topic was not her first choice. Rather, an advisor suggested it after Bell mentioned being interested in research on Black parents, she said.
“I said, ‘okay, you’re on point,'” Bell said. “She didn’t know anything about my personal life.”
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.
