She was a teenager from St. Louis when the world first noticed her name. Today, Toriah Lachell is 26 years old, a certified curl specialist, a salon owner, a mother, and one of the most quietly inspiring stories in the natural hair community. Most people know her because she once dated NBA All-Star Jayson Tatum. But if you stop the story there, you miss everything that actually matters. Toriah did not just survive a high-profile breakup. She built a life, a brand, and a business that stands completely on its own , and in 2026, that story deserves to be told fully.
Toriah Lachell: Who Is She Really?
Toriah Lachell , full name Toriah Lachell Mimms , was born on or around February 20, 2000, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her zodiac sign is Pisces, and her personality matches it: intuitive, creative, and deeply private. She grew up in a stable home with her mother, Julie Gibbs, and her stepfather, John Gibbs, both of whom remain close pillars in her life today.
She was not a child of celebrity or wealth. She was a regular teenager who played varsity soccer and softball at McCluer North High School in St. Louis. Those sports taught her something that still shows in how she runs her business: you put in the work quietly, you stay focused, and you compete without needing the crowd to validate you.
Below is a complete quick-reference table for Toriah Lachell.
| Detail | Information |
| Full Name | Toriah Lachell Mimms |
| Date of Birth | February 20/21, 2000 |
| Age (2026) | 26 years old |
| Birthplace | St. Louis, Missouri, USA |
| Current Residence | Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | African-American |
| Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) |
| Mother | Julie Gibbs |
| Stepfather | John Gibbs |
| Ex-Partner | Jayson Tatum (NBA, Boston Celtics) |
| Son | Jayson “Deuce” Tatum Jr. (born December 6, 2017) |
| Salon | The Curl Bar Boston (opened 2021) |
| Certifications | DevaCurl, Rezo Cut, Cut It Kinky |
| Online Course | The Curl Bar Curl Course: Case Study |
| @hairbytoriahlachell / @thecurlbarboston | |
| Estimated Net Worth (2026) | ~$2 million |
| Relationship Status | Single (not publicly dating) |
| Future Plans | Hair care product line launch |
Toriah Lachell’s Early Life in St. Louis
Growing Up Away from the Spotlight
St. Louis, Missouri shaped Toriah Lachell in ways that still show up in everything she does. She did not grow up chasing attention. She grew up chasing goals on soccer fields and softball diamonds. She played both sports competitively through high school, and that competitive drive never really left her. Her home life was simple and grounded.
Julie Gibbs raised her daughter with clear values: work hard, stay humble, and never let anyone else write your story. Toriah has spoken warmly about her mother and stepfather in various online profiles, consistently crediting them as her emotional foundation. She keeps her extended family almost entirely private, but their influence is visible in her discipline and calm demeanor.
High School, Sports, and the First Flicker of Public Life
At McCluer North High School, Toriah was known as an athlete and a focused student. Around 2014 and 2015, she and Jayson Tatum , who attended Chaminade College Prep, a few miles away in St. Louis , began dating. Their paths crossed in the way that many teenage love stories begin: proximity, shared friends, and the easy rhythm of two young people from the same city.
In 2015, a moment of quiet public visibility arrived. She appeared in a Sports Illustrated feature photograph, wearing her prom dress, linked to the rising high school basketball star beside her. She was 15. It was a small snapshot that almost no one paid attention to, but it would later become a footnote in a much bigger story.
Toriah Lachell and Jayson Tatum: The Full Relationship Timeline
Two Teenagers, One City, One Dream Between Them
Toriah Lachell and Jayson Tatum dated from roughly 2014 to 2016 or 2017. Their relationship predates his fame entirely. He was a high school phenom with NBA dreams; she was a varsity athlete with an uncertain but promising future. They were young people in love before the cameras arrived. Jayson was selected fourth overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2017 NBA Draft.
His life changed overnight. He moved to Boston. Toriah stayed in St. Louis , at first. The distance, the pressure, and the speed of everything made an already complicated situation even harder. Rumors of infidelity have floated around online for years, but Toriah has never confirmed or addressed them publicly. What she chose instead was silence and dignity, which says a great deal about her character.
Why Their Breakup Happened , and Why It Does Not Define Her
The honest truth is that many teenage relationships do not survive the pressure of sudden fame, long distance, and a surprise pregnancy. None of that makes anyone a villain. Toriah and Jayson were both teenagers navigating an extraordinary situation with limited tools and unlimited stakes. What matters more than how it ended is what happened next.
Toriah found out she was pregnant while still 17. Jayson was 19 and about to enter the NBA. Instead of retreating or fighting publicly, Toriah made one of the most selfless decisions of her young life: she moved to Boston at eight months pregnant so her son could grow up near his father. That single decision , quiet, brave, and completely unannounced , tells you everything you need to know about who she is.
Deuce Tatum: The Son Who Stole Every Court He Ever Sat Near
Born on December 6, 2017
Jayson “Deuce” Tatum Jr. was born on December 6, 2017, in Boston, Massachusetts. He arrived into a world of immediate complexity , two young parents, one of them a brand-new NBA player, and a co-parenting arrangement that had to be built from scratch.
Toriah Lachell was 17 years old when she became his mother. She handled newborn nights, feeding schedules, and solo mornings without the luxury of a partner at home. She did it without complaint and without broadcasting it to the world.
Deuce at the Celtics Games: America Notices
By 2018 and 2019, Deuce Tatum had become a genuine fan favorite. He sat courtside during Boston Celtics games in a miniature Celtics jersey, clapping, laughing, and occasionally stealing the broadcast camera from his father. In 2022, when Jayson went to the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, Deuce was there , tiny, composed, and utterly charming.
What most people watching those moments do not realize is that none of that would have happened without Toriah. She drove him to those games. She prepped him, dressed him, and made sure he was okay being in an arena full of thousands of people. Motherhood happens in the invisible moments, and she owned all of them.
How Toriah Lachell Became a Curl Specialist
From Relaxers to a Revolution
Toriah Lachell’s hair journey began the same way it does for millions of young Black women in America: with a relaxer. For years, she chemically straightened her natural curls because she did not know how to manage them. The natural hair movement, which gained enormous momentum in the United States through the 2010s, had not yet reached her in a personal way.
That changed when a friend showed her what was possible. One person wearing her natural curls confidently was all it took to flip a switch in Toriah’s mind. She stopped using relaxers, started watching tutorial videos, and began the slow, patient process of learning her own hair. The curl pattern that came back surprised her. It was beautiful, layered, and full of personality , just like her.
The YouTube Rabbit Hole That Started a Career
She spent months watching natural hair content on YouTube, testing products, and experimenting with techniques. Her curls responded. They grew healthier, more defined, and more vibrant with every week. Friends noticed the change immediately and started asking for help. She obliged. She did hair for them informally, freely, and with genuine joy. That joy was the signal she needed.
She enrolled in cosmetology school, earned her license, and then went further. She sought out specialized training programs that were not taught in standard cosmetology curricula. This is where her career separated from the average.
The Curl Bar Boston: Inside Toriah Lachell’s Salon Empire
Opening Day, 2021: A Vision Made Real
Toriah Lachell opened The Curl Bar Boston in 2021. The salon was not an accident or a side hustle , it was a calculated, passionate decision. She saw a clear gap in Boston’s beauty market: a dedicated, expert-level space for people with curly and textured hair who had been underserved by general salons for decades.
The Curl Bar Boston is located in the Boston area and operates with a specific philosophy: every client leaves not only with beautiful hair but with the knowledge to maintain it at home. This educational approach is rare in the salon industry and has become the salon’s most talked-about feature.
What Makes The Curl Bar Different from Every Other Salon
Most salons in the United States offer curly hair services as an afterthought , a box on a menu, handled by whoever is available. Toriah built The Curl Bar Boston as the entire menu. Every service, every technique, every product recommendation is designed specifically for curls and natural texture.
The services offered include:
- Curl cuts tailored to each client’s specific curl pattern and density
- Hydration and deep conditioning treatments for porosity-specific needs
- Personalized curl care education sessions (teaching clients wash-day routines, product layering, and diffusing techniques)
- Curl consultations for clients transitioning from chemically treated to natural hair
- The Curl Bar Curl Course: Case Study , an online education program for clients outside Boston
The salon quickly gained a reputation that spread beyond Boston’s local beauty community. By 2022 and 2023, the client list had grown to include notable names. Comedian and television host Trevor Noah visited and was photographed after a session, giving the salon a wave of organic publicity that money could not buy.
Toriah’s Three Core Certifications and What They Mean
DevaCurl, Rezo Cut, and Cut It Kinky
Toriah Lachell holds three specialized certifications that place her firmly among the top curl specialists in New England. Each one represents a distinct area of expertise.
DevaCurl certification covers the DevaCurl method, a widely respected system for cutting and caring for naturally curly and wavy hair. It uses a dry-cutting technique that honors the curl’s natural shape and spring, rather than straightening the hair before cutting. Stylists certified in this method understand curl clumping, shrinkage patterns, and hydration science.
Rezo Cut is a newer, precision-based technique developed by Nubia Suarez in New York. It focuses on cutting each curl individually to create shape and reduce bulk without losing length. The technique is highly visual and architectural , it requires patience, precision, and a deep understanding of texture.
Cut It Kinky focuses specifically on tighter curl patterns , 4A, 4B, and 4C textures , which are often the most misunderstood and most underserved hair types in traditional salons. This certification signals to clients with tightly coiled natural hair that Toriah can actually work with their hair type, not just tolerate it.
Together, these three certifications cover almost the entire spectrum of naturally textured hair. Few stylists in Boston hold all three.
Toriah Lachell’s Online Presence and Brand Identity
How She Uses Social Media , and What She Deliberately Avoids
Toriah Lachell runs two primary Instagram accounts: @hairbytoriahlachell, her personal stylist page, and @thecurlbarboston, the salon’s official brand account. Both pages are exclusively professional. You will not find photos of her dating life, opinions on Jayson Tatum, or drama of any kind.
You will find before-and-after curl transformations, styling tutorials, product recommendations, and booking information. This approach is strategic, not accidental. She understands that her value to clients is built on trust and expertise, not celebrity proximity. Every post reinforces that message.
Her personal aesthetic , rooted in soft pinks, light tones, and calm imagery , reflects her actual personality. She describes herself as an introvert. Her favorite color is light pink. She enjoys browsing candles and notebooks at HomeGoods. She loves R&B music and counts Tupac Shakur among her top five favorite artists. She also has a deep weakness for chocolate cake , a small, human detail that makes her feel real and relatable to anyone paying attention.
Toriah Lachell’s Net Worth and How She Built It Independently
As of 2026, Toriah Lachell’s estimated net worth sits at approximately $2 million. Every dollar of it came from her own work. Her income streams include:
- Revenue from The Curl Bar Boston salon services
- The Curl Bar Curl Course: Case Study online program fees
- Long-term client retainers and repeat bookings
- Growing brand partnerships and collaborations in the natural hair industry
She is also reportedly planning to launch her own hair care product line in the near future , a natural extension of her expertise and an enormous potential revenue stream. The natural hair care product market in the United States was valued at over $3.5 billion in 2023 and continues growing. If she enters that space with the credibility she has already built, it is a serious business move.
Her financial success is particularly meaningful because she built it as a single mother. She did not rely on child support as her primary income. She did not leverage Jayson Tatum’s fame to sell a personal brand. She simply identified what she loved, trained at the highest level, opened a business, and delivered exceptional results. That is the full story of her wealth.
Toriah Lachell and Jayson Tatum: Co-Parenting That Actually Works
A Quiet Blueprint for Modern Co-Parenting
In 2024, Jayson Tatum signed a five-year, $314 million contract extension with the Boston Celtics , one of the largest deals in NBA history at the time. The same year, the Celtics won the NBA Championship. Through all of it, Deuce Tatum was visible, celebrated, and clearly loved by both parents.
Toriah Lachell and Jayson Tatum have never fought publicly. They have never posted vague social media messages aimed at each other. They have never used Deuce as a weapon or a prop. What they have done instead is something far more difficult: they chose respect over drama, every single time.
In an era where celebrity co-parenting often becomes a public circus, their approach is genuinely rare. Toriah moved to Boston , away from her family, her friends, and everything familiar , so that Deuce could have access to both his parents. That sacrifice shaped everything that came after it.
What Deuce Learns from Watching Both Parents
Deuce Tatum is growing up watching a father who is one of the best basketball players on the planet and a mother who built a business from zero. Both parents show him, daily and without fanfare, what dedication looks like. That is an extraordinary education no classroom can replicate.
Where Is Toriah Lachell Today?
In 2026, Toriah Lachell is 26 years old, living in Boston, and fully in command of her own narrative. She runs The Curl Bar Boston. She teaches her online curl course. She co-parents Deuce with Jayson Tatum in a peaceful and private arrangement. She is not publicly dating anyone.
She is also looking ahead. Her stated goals include expanding The Curl Bar Boston’s service offerings, growing her online education programs to reach clients across the United States, and potentially launching a line of curl care products that reflect her training, philosophy, and personal hair journey.
She is not chasing fame. She never was. But fame has a way of finding people who are genuinely good at what they do , and Toriah Lachell is very, very good at what she does. The girl from St. Louis who once sat courtside in someone else’s story is now writing her own.
(FAQs) About Toriah Lachell
Who is Toriah Lachell?
Toriah Lachell is an American curly hair specialist, certified cosmetologist, and the owner of The Curl Bar Boston. She is also the mother of Jayson “Deuce” Tatum Jr. and the former girlfriend of NBA star Jayson Tatum. Born in St. Louis, Missouri in February 2000, she now lives and works in Boston, Massachusetts.
How old is Toriah Lachell in 2026?
Toriah Lachell will be 26 years old in 2026. She was born on or around February 20 or 21, 2000, making her a Pisces. She became a mother at 17 when her son Deuce was born in December 2017.
What is The Curl Bar Boston?
The Curl Bar Boston is a specialty salon founded and owned by Toriah Lachell in 2021. It focuses exclusively on curly and natural hair care, offering curl cuts, hydration treatments, and personalized hair education. The salon is based in the Boston, Massachusetts area and has attracted clients including television personality Trevor Noah.
What certifications does Toriah Lachell hold?
Toriah Lachell holds three specialized curl certifications: DevaCurl, Rezo Cut, and Cut It Kinky. These cover a wide range of curly and textured hair types, from loose waves to tightly coiled 4C patterns. These credentials place her among the most formally trained curl specialists in the New England region.
Are Toriah Lachell and Jayson Tatum still together?
No. Toriah Lachell and Jayson Tatum ended their romantic relationship around 2016 or 2017, shortly before or after the birth of their son. They were never married. Today they maintain a respectful co-parenting relationship focused entirely on their son Deuce.
What is Toriah Lachell’s net worth?
Toriah Lachell’s estimated net worth as of 2026 is approximately $2 million. Her income comes from The Curl Bar Boston salon, her online curl education course (The Curl Bar Curl Course: Case Study), long-term client relationships, and growing brand partnerships in the natural hair industry.
Is Toriah Lachell dating anyone in 2026?
As of 2026, Toriah Lachell has not publicly confirmed any romantic relationship. Since her breakup with Jayson Tatum, she has kept her personal life entirely private. Her public accounts focus exclusively on her work, and she has not shared any indication of a new partner online.
What is Toriah Lachell’s full name?
Her full legal name is Toriah Lachell Mimms. She uses the professional name Toriah Lachell across her business and social media presence, including her Instagram accounts @hairbytoriahlachell and @thecurlbarboston.
What online courses does Toriah Lachell offer?
Toriah Lachell offers an online curl education program called The Curl Bar Curl Course: Case Study. This course teaches natural hair care techniques to people outside her salon, covering topics like curl maintenance, wash-day routines, product selection, and styling methods. It allows her to reach clients anywhere in the United States.
Where is Toriah Lachell from originally?
Toriah Lachell was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She attended McCluer North High School, where she played varsity soccer and softball. She moved to Boston, Massachusetts at eight months pregnant in 2017 so her son Deuce could be close to his father, Jayson Tatum, who plays for the Boston Celtics.
The Takeaway
Toriah Lachell is not a footnote in someone else’s biography. She is the author of her own. She became a mother at 17 in a new city, built a certified career from scratch, opened a respected salon by age 21, and is now planning her next chapter , all while raising a son who appears to be one of the most loved children in all of professional basketball.
Her story is not about a breakup or a famous ex. It is about what a young woman can build when she stops waiting for permission and starts doing the work. In a world that constantly tries to define women by who they are next to, Toriah Lachell is a clear reminder that the most powerful identity is always the one you build yourself.
For more background on the Boston Celtics career of Jayson Tatum, the father of her son Deuce, you can find further information on Wikipedia.
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