As Khadijah shared, “It was a wonderful time in our young career to encounter people like Kurt Russell. We shared a glam trailer with him, and he was just so amazing. He would come in every morning and give us hugs and kisses. It was great to watch such seasoned and humble actors on a daily basis for months at a time. It was a real, real pleasure.”
On the topic of Preston, who sadly passed away in early July following a battle with breast cancer, both sisters admitted they shed some tears when they learned of her death. As Malika put it, “Not because of a personal relationship, not because of the experience on Sky High, but, you know, just mourning for her family and what a huge loss she is to this business. And she really truly was just a beautiful person.”
Khadijah added that Preston’s presence on set made a lasting impression on her. “I just remember her talking to me and hugging me and, in between takes, watching her go over her lines. It made you feel like, ‘You know what, this is what it takes.’ And she was sharing in that and she was present in that and she was so nice and so gracious to everybody. I really took that,” she said. “It wasn’t that I didn’t already know that, in a work setting, you should be professional, you should be nice to people, but to watch people like that—’cause you hear in the business that some people aren’t as warm—it was a wonderful role model to say, ‘You know what, Kelly was someone I worked with and she was a pleasure and she was nice to me. ‘”
