Tatyana Marisol Ali is an American actress and singer best known for her role as Ashley Banks on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sitcom ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

'' from 1990 to 1996. She starred as Tyana Jones on the TV One original series ''

Love That Girl! ''Love That Girl!'' is an American sitcom that airs on TV One and debuted on January 19, 2010. The series started off as a four episode, independently produced series presentation that aired as a special three-night event, and was later ordered ...

'', and played a recurring role as Roxanne on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

'' from 2007 to 2013.

Early life

Ali was born in North Bellmore, New York. She is of mixed African and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n descent or

Dougla Dougla people (plural ''Douglas'') are Caribbean people who are of mixed African and Indian descent. The word ''Dougla'' (also Dugla or Dogla) is used throughout the Dutch and English-speaking Caribbean. Definition The word ''Dougla'' origin ...

, born to an Indo-Trinidadian father and an Afro-Panamanian mother.

Career

In 1985, 6-year-old Ali began her acting career as a regular performer on the PBS children's educational program ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

''. Her tenure included an appearance with jazz great

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

, who demonstrated his

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commercial lic ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

using a sample of Ali's voice. She also appeared in two episodes of ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...

,'' one of which featured her performance of a cover of

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

's and

Tammi Terrell Tammi Terrell (born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery; April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye. ...

's hit "

Ain't No Mountain High Enough "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and ...

". She made her breakthrough in 1990 when she was cast as Ashley Banks on the

television sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', a role she played throughout the series' entire run, from 1990 to 1996. Ali's vocal talent was featured on several episodes of ''Fresh Prince'' in later seasons, prompting the show's star

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 ...

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, Ali 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 Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in early 1999, only months after its release, and spawned the

Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

-produced hit single " Daydreamin'", released July 21, 1998, which peaked at No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and also appeared on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The album spawned two further UK hits, "

Boy You Knock Me Out "Boy You Knock Me Out" is a song by American actress and singer Tatyana Ali from her only studio album, '' Kiss the Sky'' (1998). Written by Kelly Price, StoneBridge, and Nick Nice, the track samples " Summer Madness" by Kool & the Gang and " W ...

" featuring Will Smith—which peaked at No. 3 and is her biggest hit to date—and "Everytime", which was her third top-20 hit in the UK, peaking at No. 20. She made an appearance on Smith's album '' Willennium'' on the track "Who Am I" with

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rap music, rapper, Disc jockey, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 19 ...

. She performed the title song "Sunny Valentine" along with Terrence Quaites for the indie film ''Rockin' Meera'' in 2005. In early 2008, she performed on the song " Yes We Can", a will.i.am project supporting

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

'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 ''World News Now'' (or WNN) is an American overnight news broadcast seen on ABC. Airing during the early morning hours each Monday through Friday, the program features a mix of general news and off-beat stories, along with weather forecasts, sp ...

''. In January 2014, Ali released an EP titled ''Hello'', whose first single was "Wait For It", which she performed on ''

The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, ...

'' on February 4, 2014. Apart from her musical career, Ali continued to land roles in films such as '' The Brothers'', ''

Glory Road ''Glory Road'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (July – September 1963) and published in hardcover the same year. It was nominated for ...

'', and ''

Nora's Hair Salon ''Nora's Hair Salon'' is a 2004 independent comedy-drama film, written by Chanel Capra and Jean-Claude La Marre, and directed by Jerry LaMothe. This film stars Jenifer Lewis, Tamala Jones, and Tatyana Ali. Plot Nora Harper (Jenifer Lewis) is an ...

'' (and its sequel), among others. From 2009 to 2010 she produced and starred in the

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

web series ''Buppies''. She was on

recurring status Recurring status is a class of actors that perform on U.S. soap operas. Recurring status performers consistently act in less than three episodes out of a five-day work week, and receive a certain sum for each episode in which they appear. This i ...

on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

'' as Roxanne from 2007 to 2013. Ali starred in the TV One original series ''

'' as Tyana (whose name was derived from Ali's given name). In 2013, she co-starred as Maya in the

comedy ''

Second Generation Wayans ''Second Generation Wayans'' is an American comedy-drama television series that debuted on BET on January 15, 2013. It ended on March 19, 2013 after only one season. Premise Damien Dante Wayans and Craig Wayans, nephews of the famous Wayans bro ...

'', alongside Craig Wayans and Damien Dante Wayans. In 2011, Ali received the Living Legacy Award from the Caribbean Heritage Organization in Los Angeles. In July 2016, Ali sued Warner Bros. claiming that the company stole her idea for the show ''

The Real In continental philosophy, the Real refers to the remainder of reality that cannot be expressed, and which surpasses reasoning. In Lacanianism, it is an "impossible" category because of its opposition to expression and inconceivability. I ...

'' after she pitched the concept in December 2012. The case was dismissed in February 2017.

Personal life

She dated actor Jonathan Brandis from 1995 to 1998. Ali attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in African-American Studies and Government in 2002. On a celebrity edition of the game show ''The Chase'', which aired February 3, 2015, Ali stated that her major was political science. She traveled the United States as a spokesperson for

's 2008 presidential campaign, and headed

voter registration In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The r ...

drives at college campuses. In March 2016, Ali revealed that she was engaged to Dr. Vaughn Rasberry, assistant professor of English at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

, whom she had met on

eHarmony Eharmony (styled eHarmony) is an online dating website launched in 2000. eHarmony is based in Los Angeles, California, and owned by Nucom ecommerce, a joint venture of German mass media company ProSiebenSat.1 Media and American private equity ...

, and they announced that they were expecting their first child. She and Rasberry married on July 17, 2016, in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

. The couple has two sons.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other appearances

Awards and nominations

;Caribbean Heritage Organization * 2011: Recipient, Living Legacy Award ;

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

* 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: Won, Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama – ''The Young and the Restless'' * 2012: Won, Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama – ''The Young and the Restless'' * 2012: Nominated, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series – ''Love That Girl!'' * 2013: Nominated, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series – ''Love That Girl!'' ;

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice) is an annual American children's awards ceremony show that is produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in late March or early April, the show honors ...

* 1996: Nominated, Favorite Television Actress – ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' ;

Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

* 1991: Won, Outstanding Young Comedienne in a 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''

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Tatyana 1979 births Living people People from Bellmore, New York Singers from New York (state) Actresses from New York (state) American child actresses American child singers American contemporary R&B singers American film actresses American television actresses African-American actresses Hispanic and Latino American actresses American actresses of Indian descent American women singers of Indian descent American people of Panamanian descent American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Harvard College alumni 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers