Acting
Jan 23, 1979
Long Island, New York, USA
Tatyana Ali
Acting
Biography
Tatyana Marisol Ali (born January 24, 1979) is an American actress and singer. She's best known for her role as Ashley Banks on the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. At the age of four she started singing and got a taste of fame when she begged her mother to take her to an audition for Sesame Street. In 1985, as a 6-year-old, she began her acting career as a regular performer on the PBS children's educational program Sesame Street. She went on to perform in many productions in her native city, New York, including the Broadway show Fences--with James Earl Jones and, later, Billy Dee Williams--and the off-Broadway show Orfeo del Campo. When she was seven, she appeared on Star Search and won twice, receiving a four-star rating when she appeared for a second time. At age 11, she moved from New York to Los Angeles to establish her career and not long afterwords landed her breakthrough role as Ashley Banks, Will Smith's character's cousin, on the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996). While filming The Fresh Prince, she also had side projects, including guest roles in television shows such as The Cosby Show (1984), The All New Mickey Mouse Club (1989) (aka The Mickey Mouse Club), Kyno's Storytime (1992), Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990), and Foster's Field Trip (1994). Her vocal talent was featured on several episodes of Fresh Prince in later seasons, prompting the show's star Will Smith to ask her if she would seriously consider pursuing a musical career. She ultimately decided, for the time being, to continue to concentrate on her acting career. In the series' final season, however, she performed several songs, and she began to be cleaned for her musical debut, the culmination of which was her debut album Kiss The Sky in 1998. It was certified gold in early 1999, only months after its release. "Boy You Knock Me Out" featuring Will Smith—which peaked at No. 3 and is her biggest hit to date. She made an appearance on Smith's album Willennium on the track "Who Am I" with MC Lyte. In early 2008, she performed on the song "Yes We Can", a will.i.am project supporting Barack Obama's presidential campaign. She also appeared in the subsequent music video, which garnered coverage on the "What the Buzz" segment of ABC's World News Now. In January 2014, she released an EP titled Hello. Apart from her musical career, she continued to land roles in films such as The Brothers, Glory Road, and Nora's Hair Salon (and its sequel), among others. From 2009 to 2010 she produced and starred in the BET web series Buppies. She was on recurring status on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Roxanne from 2007 to 2013. She starred in the TV One original series Love That Girl! as Tyana (whose name was derived from Ali's given name). In 2013, she co-starred as Maya in the BET comedy Second Generation Wayans, alongside Craig Wayans and Damien Dante Wayans. In 2011, she received the Living Legacy Award from the Caribbean Heritage Organization in Los Angeles.
Feature Films (54)
A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.
Brother
Gaby Jones, fashion photographer, takes a holiday retreat against her desire by advise of her friend. She will then find that there's more behind a photo when she meets wildlife photographer Sean.
A Picture Perfect Holiday
This is the story of four African-American "yuppies" (a banker, a doctor, a lawyer, and a "playboy") who call themselves "The Brothers". When the playboy gets engaged, the other three friends find themselves having to come to terms with their own issues of commitment and honesty...
The Brothers
The story of Ni'cola Mitchell, a victim of unspeakable sexual violence who grew up to be a best-selling author and inspirational speaker, founding an organization dedicated to saving at risk girls from abuse and exploitation.
Giving Hope: The Ni'cola Mitchell Story
Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.
Kiss the Girls
Television & Series (28)
A once-famous football player must rent part of his house to support himself. A single mother and her two kids are the latest tenants. He also owns a sports clinic that he barely manages to run with help from his friends
In the House
Half & Half is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from September 23, 2002, to May 15, 2006. The show focuses on the lives of two paternal half-sisters in their twenties who were estranged throughout their childhood, and are finally developing a close relationship. The series is set in San Francisco. It was the second-most-watched show on UPN's Monday night line-up and fourth overall on the network. The show was on The CW's first draft line-up in March 2006, but due to several circumstances—including The CW's contractual obligation to pick up Reba, the uncancelling of All of Us, and the pick-up of the Girlfriends spin-off The Game—Half & Half was left off the final Fall 2006 schedule and ended production. The series has aired in reruns on Global TV in Canada, Trouble in the UK and in local syndication in the United States. It also airs in the United States on TV One.
Half & Half
Fastlane is an American action/crime drama series that was broadcast on Fox from September 18, 2002 to April 25, 2003.
Fastlane
Living Single is an American television sitcom that aired for five seasons on the Fox network from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends who share personal and professional experiences while living in a Brooklyn brownstone. Throughout its run, Living Single became one of the most popular African-American sitcoms of its era, ranking among the top five in African-American ratings in all five seasons. The series was produced by Yvette Lee Bowser's company, Sister Lee, in association with Warner Bros. Television. In contrast to the popularity of NBC's "Must See TV" on Thursday nights in the 1990s, many African American and Latino viewers flocked to Fox's Thursday night line-up of Martin, Living Single, and New York Undercover. In fact, these were the three highest-rated series among black households for the 1996–1997 season.
