There's something about fatherhood that changes a man, almost always for the better. There's added perspective on what it truly means to live a fulfilling life. In Shemar Moore's case, it's this newfound vantage point that sometimes renders him speechless in amazement watching his 1-year-old daughter, Frankie, accomplish even the tiniest of feats, like walking and squatting.
But some feats are not so tiny. Frankie's only one but already she's exuding brilliance -- by learning and grasping sign language, which comes in handy when papa's stunned silent. The 53-year-old S.W.A.T. star gives all the credit in the world to his girlfriend and the mother of their daughter, Jesiree Dizon, who has been at the forefront teaching not just Frankie but also the proud father to sign.
"My girl is no joke, Jesiree. She's no joke," gushed Moore while speaking to ET's Denny Directo. "She teaches us sign language. I'm trying to keep up. I'm trying to learn more, more, more, you know? I'm trying to learn it all."
The Criminal Minds star and Dizon welcomed Frankie in January 2023. And last June, Moore celebrated his first-ever Father's Day. Dizon paid tribute to Moore with a sweet TikTok video full of adorable father-daughter moments. It's how you'll find Moore these days when he's not busy commanding his S.W.A.T. squad, trading his bulletproof gear and heavy ammunition for bibs and tiny spoons. His entire world, once filled with red carpets and after-parties, has come to a crawling pace. Check that, a 10-step pace -- followed by squatting to develop strength, balance and movement. And he wouldn't have it any other way.
"She's my little miracle," Moore gushes. "She's the rest of my life. Now, it's no longer about me. I just got to be the best version of myself so that Daddy knows that she has a dope daddy. Everything I do is for her and my fam and my girl."
It brings a smile to Moore's face talking about a happy Frankie, who is giving her daddy a run for his money.
"You know, all we do is walk circles around the house," he says. "'Where are we going, Frankie? Where we going, Frankie?'"
Having a child would change his life. It's something Moore's always known because it was his late mother, Marylin Joan Wilson-Moore, who told him. She tragically died on Feb. 8, 2020 at the age of 76. But Moore can take solace in that he sees a lot of his late mother in his daughter, especially "in her personality."
"This was my mother's dream," Moore told ET in February. "She was proud of me for my success and the things that I've done, but she always said to me, 'The best of you will come out when you have a child.' So now, I get that opportunity."
He added, "I'm sorry that they don't co-exist, but I know she's up there, proud."
Moore, who also spoke to ET about feeling ecstatic that CBS renewed S.W.A.T. after it was initially canceled, has a lot to celebrate these days. His show being revived, his tiny human wowing him at every turn, and soon celebrating his 54th birthday, which lands on Saturday.
His birthday plans?
"You know what? I'm just going to have a Sunday Funday on a Saturday," said the Oakland, California, native. "I got just the homies coming through and we're going to listen to some music. We got the fight."
The fight being the highly anticipated boxing pay-per-view bout between Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia for the WBC junior welterweight belt on Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
"We're going to eat some good food, have a little drinky-drink. We're going to play some games, and that's it," Moore shares. "Just surround myself with the people I love."
And that consists of his girlfriend, daughter, the homies and, yes, even his mother watching him from above.
"Here's to my daughter, here's to my girl, here's to my mama up in heaven," Moore toasted while enjoying an early birthday cake. "Mama, I hope I made you proud."
S.W.A.T.'s season finale airs May 17 on CBS.
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