Tatyana Marisol Ali (born January 24, 1981) is an American actress
and R&B singer, best known for her role as Ashley Banks in The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Contents
Ali was born in Long Island, New York. Her mother Sonia was a nurse
and is of Afro-Panamanian descent. Her father Sheriff Ali is of Indo-Trinidadian
descent. She has two younger sisters, Anastacia and Kimberly. She
attended The Burkley School and Grand Avenue Junior High School in
Bellmore, New York, Marymount High School in West Los Angeles, California,
and The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. In 2002, she
graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science and African
American studies from Harvard University.[1]
[edit] Career
By the age of six, Ali had begun her acting career. She was a regular
child performer on Sesame Street starting in 1985, even appearing
with Herbie Hancock in a musical number. She also appeared on Star
Search two times. She made her breakthrough when she was cast as
Ashley Banks for the television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
in 1990. She sang on various episodes of the show, including a heavily
altered Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and the original song "Make
Up Your Mind" produced by Robert Jerald of N'Spyre Music Productions.
Will Smith asked her if she seriously considered pursuing a musical
career. Despite her singing ability, she concentrated on her acting
career on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air the next few years.
In the final season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1995–1996,
Ali began preparing herself for her musical debut. The result was
the album Kiss The Sky, which was certified gold in early 1999. The
album spawned the hit song "Daydreamin'", produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins,
which peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the UK Singles
Chart. The album spawned two further UK hits, "Boy You Knock
Me Out", featuring Will Smith, which peaked at #3 and is her
biggest hit to date; and "Everytime", which was her third
top 20 hit in the UK, peaking at #20. She made an appearance in Smith's
album Willennium for the track "Who Am I" with MC Lyte.
Along with her musical career, she kept acting in many films. She
had the chance to work with recognized film directors such as Takeshi
Kitano (Brother), Rodrigo Garcia (Mother and Child), among others.
In 2005, she completed work on the film Glory Road and starred in
the music video for Nick Cannon and Anthony Hamilton's "Can
I Live?" as Cannon's mother.
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 gained coverage
on the "What the Buzz" segment of ABC’s World News
Now.
She is currently preparing to release her second album, which she
describes as "an independent effort".[2] The album is titled "The
Light". Much of the album's production was being handled by
famed Tupac Shakur's producer Johnny "J".
She also performed the title song,"Sunny Valentine" along
with Terrence Quaites for indie film,"Rockin' Meera" directed
by Param gill in 2007.
She is also producing and starring in the BET web show, Buppies.
She is currently on recurring status on the CBS soap opera The Young
and the Restless as Roxanne.[3]
Ali currently can be seen in Love That Girl! on TV One as the lead
character.
[edit] Personal life
Ali dated the actor Jonathan Brandis[1] before his death.
Ali traveled the United States as a spokesperson for Barack Obama's
2008 Presidential Campaign. Ali headed voter registration drives
at college campuses.
[edit] Filmography
Film Year? Title? Role? Notes
1987 Eddie Murphy Raw Eddie's Sister Sketch Segment
1988 Crocodile Dundee II Park Girl
1988 Wow, You're a Cartoonist! Child Cartoonist Short film
Direct-to-Video Release
1997 Fakin' da Funk Karyn
1997 Kiss the Girls Janell Cross
1998 The Clown at Midnight Monica
1999 Jawbreaker Brenda
2000 Brother Latifa
2001 The Brothers Cherie Smith
2003 National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze Claire
2004 Nora's Hair Salon Lilleana
2005 Back in the Day Alicia Packer
2005 Domino One Laeticia Richards
2006 Glory Road Tina Malichi
2006 A Warm Place Clair Andrews Short film
2007 The List Cynthia
2008 Down & Out Short film
2008 Nora's Hair Salon 2: A Cut Above Lilleana
2008 Hotel California Jessie
2009 Mother and Child Maria
2010 Love That Girl! Tyana
2010 Privileged Talia awaiting release
2010 Locker 13 Lucy awaiting release
2010 The Misguided Adventures of Dating in Hollywood Troi pre-production
Television Year? Title? Role? Notes
1985,
1990 Sesame Street Tatyana 4 episodes
1989 Wally and the Valentines Jamaica Valentine TV-Special
1989 A Man Called Hawk Michelle Episode: Life After Death
1989 The Cosby Show Girl Episode: Shall We Dance?
1990–
1996 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Ashley Banks 133 episodes
1993 Getting By Nicole Alexander Episode: Turnabout Dance
1994 Are You Afraid of the Dark? Laura Turner/Connie Turner Episode:
The Tale of the Quicksilver
1994 TV's Funniest Families Host TV-Special
1995 In the House Ashley Banks Episode: Dog Catchers
1996 Living Single Stephanie James Episode: Whatever Happened to
Baby Sister?
1996 Kidz in the Wood Rita TV-Movie
1996 Fall Into Darkness Sharon McKay TV-Movie
1997 413 Hope St. Kai Episode: Heartbeat
2002 Fastlane Shelly Episode: Girls Own Juice
2003 Half & Half Olivia Episode: The Big Condom-nation Episode
2007 On the Lot Girl Episode: 11 Cut to 10 & 10 Directors Compete
Segment: First Sight
2007–
present The Young and the Restless Roxanne
2010 Love that Girl
[edit] Discography
Albums
* 1998: Kiss the Sky (#47 US, #41 UK, Certified Gold)
Chart Performance
Year Song U.S. U.S. R&B UK NZ[4] FRA[5] NET[6] Album
1998 "Day Dreamin'" 6 5 6 3 — — Kiss The Sky
"
Boy You Knock Me Out" (featuring Will Smith) — 68 3 12
32 77
1999 "Everytime" 118 73 20 — — —
"
Kiss the Sky" (featuring Marion) 9 — — — — —
2005 "Can I Live" - - - — — - Nick Cannon-Music
Video
[edit] Awards and nominations
NAACP Image Awards
* 1996: Won, "Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress" – The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
* 1997: Nominated, "Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress" – The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
* 2010: Nominated, "Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama" – The
Young and the Restless
* 2011: Nominated, "Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series" - Love
That Girl!
* 2011: Nominated, "Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama" – The
Young and the Restless
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
* 1996: Nominated, "Favorite Television Actress" – The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Young Artist Award
* 1991: Won, "Best Young Actress Starring in a New Television
Series" – The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
* 1992: Nominated, "Outstanding Young Comedienne in a Television Series" – The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
* 1993: Nominated, "Outstanding Young Comedienne in a Television Series" – The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
* 1994: Nominated, "Outstanding Young Comedienne in a Television Series" – The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
* 1995: Nominated, "Outstanding Young Comedienne in a Television Series" – Name
Your Adventure"
YoungStar Award
* 1997: Won, "Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy
TV Series" – The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air