Tanika Ray is an American entertainment reporter. She was born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Tanika Ray is a pop culture & lifestyle specialist with a holistic view of the cross-sections of culture. Her mission is to illuminate and unite thru entertainment.

Career

Ray began her career as a professional dancer with various artists such as

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

, the

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The ...

Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea, 27 February 1973) is an English-Australian singer and television personality of Australian descent. Andre gained popularity as a singer, best known for his singles "Mysterious Girl" and " Flava". He is als ...

Brandy Norwood Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), better known by her mononym Brandy, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model. She is known for her distinctive sound, characterized by her peculiar timbre, voice-layer ...

and late singer Aaliyah. She then started acting, guest starring in shows like

The Wayans Bros. ''The Wayans Bros.'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on The WB from January 11, 1995, to May 20, 1999. The series starred real life brothers Shawn and Marlon Wayans. The series also starred John Witherspoon and Anna Maria Hors ...

, ''

Living Single ''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Lee Bowser 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 shared personal and profes ...

'', '' NYPD Blue'' and ''

Family Matters ''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of '' Perfect Strangers, ...

'' She also appeared on music oriented shows such as '' Soul Train'', ''Motown Live'' and the short-lived late night talk show based on ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...

''. She appeared as a motion capture character, providing the voice and body movements of "Cyber Lucy", the computer-animated hostess for the children's version of Wheel of Fortune, ''Wheel of Fortune 2000''. During this period she was also the official voice of CBS Saturday Mornings. She then hosted various TV shows including ''Robotica'' co-hosted by

Ahmet Zappa Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa (born May 15, 1974) is an American musician and writer, and trustee of the Zappa Family Trust. Early life Ahmet Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the third of four children born to musician Frank Zappa and ...

for TLC and ''Lifetime Now'' with

Linda Dano Linda Dano (born Linda Rae Wildermuth) is an American actress. She is well-known for her roles in daytime drama, in particular Rae Cummings on ''One Life to Live'' and Felicia Gallant on '' Another World''. Dano was nominated for a Daytime Emmy ...

for Lifetime TV. After multiple seasons of ''Lifetime Now'', Ray hosted another show on Lifetime called ''Head2Toe''. In 2004, Ray became a New York correspondent for the entertainment magazine show '' Extra (TV series)''. After two years she was promoted to the host of its weekend edition ''Extra's Weekend Show'' and relocated to Los Angeles. In 2009 she left ''Extra''. Ray next hosted ''TBS Weekend Extra'' on TBS and ''CWNOW'' on the CW. After leaving, she hosted ''For the Love of Ray J. 2 Reunion Special'' for VH1, a one-hour special on the movie ''Precious'' for TV Guide Network, and

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

Pre-Show ''On the Red Carpet'' and a one-hour special on ''Sex and the City 2''. She frequently appears as a guest panelist on ''Showbiz Tonight'' on

HLN (TV channel) HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the network primarily carries true crime programming. The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982 by Turner Broadcasting as CNN2 (later renamed Headline News ...

and programs on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

and Fox News Channel. She also hosted season seven of HGTV's

Design Star ''HGTV Star'', named ''HGTV Design Star'' for the first seven seasons, is an American reality competition show that premiered on July 23, 2006, on the cable television network HGTV. Clive Pearse served as host for Seasons 1-4, then judge Vern Yi ...

. In 2017, Tanika Ray rejoined ''Extra'', and left for good two years later.

Television

*'' Wheel of Fortune 2000'' (1997–1998) as Cyber Lucy, the Hostess *''Soap Center'' (2000–2004) *'' Robotica'' (2001) *''Speaking of Women's Health'' (2001) *''Head 2 Toe'' (2003–2005) *''

Extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

'' (2004–2009, 2017–2019) *''TBS Weekend Extra'' (2005–present) *''Seacrest @ Night'' Pilot *''Soap News Update'' *''

CW Now ''CW Now'' is a news program/news magazine series which premiered on The CW on September 23, 2007. It was a brand extension of the syndicated Telepictures news magazine ''Extra'', and featured anchors and correspondents from that show, including ...

'' (2007–2008) *''HSN Trendsetter'' (2008–present) Host *'' Basketball Wives'' (2010) Reunion Host *''HGTV'D'' (2011–present) Host *''

HGTV Design Star ''HGTV Star'', named ''HGTV Design Star'' for the first seven seasons, is an American reality competition show that premiered on July 23, 2006, on the cable television network HGTV. Clive Pearse served as host for Seasons 1-4, then judge Vern Yi ...

'' (2011) Host *''Oh Sit (2012-2013) Co-Host

Guest starring

*''

'' (1996) *'' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1996)'' *''

Friends (TV series) ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

'' (1997) (Un-credited role) *''

'' (1998) *''

Hyperion Bay ''Hyperion Bay'' is an American drama television series that ran for one season on The WB from September 21, 1998 to March 8, 1999. The series was partially filmed in Humboldt County, California, in the cities of Trinidad, Eureka, and Ferndale. ...

'' (1999) *'' All My Children'' (2006)

References

External links

*
Tanika's Bio on The Extra Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Tanika American game show hosts American television actresses American infotainers Actresses from Washington, D.C. Actresses from Los Angeles African-American actresses Living people Spelman College alumni 1972 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses New York University alumni Entertainment journalists