Karan Ashley Jackson is an American

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, and

talk show host Below is a list of talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk ...

. She is best known as Aisha Campbell, the second Yellow Power Ranger in the Fox Kids series ''

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s popular culture, ...

''. In 1992, she was a member of the short-lived girl group K.R.U.S.H, who featured a song to the soundtrack of ''

Mo' Money ''Mo' Money'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Macdonald, and written by Damon Wayans, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Stacey Dash, Joe Santos, John Diehl, Harry Lennix, Bernie Mac (in his film debut), ...

''. She was known as "Ashley Jackson" at this time.

Life and career

Karan Ashley was born in

Odessa, Texas Odessa () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, Ector County with portions extending into Midland County, Texas, Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. She is of mixed African-American and Mexican descent. Ashley graduated from David W. Carter High School in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas. She had been accepted to

North Texas State University The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

, but just before the first day of her freshman year, she landed the role of Aisha Campbell, the second Yellow Ranger in the Fox Kids series ''

'', replacing the late

Thuy Trang Thuy Trang (December 14, 1973 – September 3, 2001) was a Vietnamese-born actress based in the United States. She was known for her role as Trini Kwan, the first Yellow Ranger on the original cast of the television series ''Mighty Morphin Pow ...

(

Trini Kwan Trini Kwan is a fictional character from the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, first appearing in the original series as the Yellow Ranger ( Sabertooth Tiger). She was portrayed by Vietnamese-American actress Thuy Trang. Trini was originally port ...

). Her last regular ''Power Rangers'' appearance was in the finale of the third season of the series. In 2023, Ashley reprised the role of Aisha Campbell in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

special, '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always'', which celebrates the 30th anniversary of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise and also marks her character's first appearance since her departure from the series in 1996, with the character Minh taking over the saber tooth tiger power. ] Ashley has made guest appearances in TV shows such as '' Hangin' with Mr. Cooper'', ''

Kenan & Kel ''Kenan & Kel'' is an American sitcom created by Kim Bass that originally aired on Nickelodeon from August 17, 1996, to May 3, 2000. Set in Chicago, the series follows mischievous Kenan Rockmore (Kenan Thompson) and his happy-go-lucky best frien ...

'', and ''

The Parkers ''The Parkers'' is an American television sitcom created by Ralph Farquhar, Sara V. Finney and Vida Spears. The series ran for five seasons from August 30, 1999, to May 10, 2004, on UPN. It stars Mo'Nique, Countess Vaughn, Mari Morrow, Dorien Wi ...

'', '' Taylor's Wall''. Her first film debut as an executive producer was the independent film '' Devon's Ghost'', alongside fellow ''Power Rangers'' alumnus

Johnny Yong Bosch Johnny Yong Bosch (born John Jay Bosch; January 6, 1976) is an American actor. His first major role was the portrayal of Adam Park, the second Black Power Ranger and later, the Green Zeo Ranger and first Green Turbo Ranger in the ''Power Rangers ...

and director

Koichi Sakamoto is a Japanese film and television director, stunt performer and coordinator, fight choreographer and producer. He is best known for his work in the tokusatsu genre, particularly for the ''Power Rangers'', ''Super Sentai'' and ''Kamen Rider'' f ...

for Gag Order Films, Inc. While she also co-wrote ''Devon's Ghost'', her first screenplay staple came with the film ''Unto Thee'' in 1999. She co-wrote the film with Gia and Tim Grace, and also starred in the movie. In August 2010, Ashley was invited to Power Morphicon, the second Power Rangers fan convention in Pasadena, California. In September 2011, Ashley joined the National Talk Radio Show "UnCensored Radio" (formerly "Unscripted Radio") as a regular co-host/producer and co-hosted the show with Co-Host

Katrina Johnson Katrina Johnson is an American actress. Biography Johnson was born in San Diego, California. Johnson starred on Nickelodeon's '' All That'' sketch comedy show from 1994 to 1997. As part of the show's original cast, she played characters such a ...

and Jeffrey Emmette filmed "Uncensored Reality", a reality show tied into Uncensored Radio. Currently, in 2016, she stars in the web series ''Class Dismissed'', alongside fellow "Power Rangers" alumni

Nakia Burrise Nakia Burrise is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Tanya Sloan, the Yellow Zeo Ranger and later, the first Yellow Turbo Ranger on the television series ''Power Rangers Zeo'' and ''Power Rangers Turbo'' from 1996 to 1997. She ...

and

Catherine Sutherland Catherine Jane Sutherland (born 24 October 1974) is an Australian/American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Kat Hillard, the second Pink Power Ranger and later, the Pink Zeo Ranger and the first Pink Turbo Ranger in the ''Power Ranger ...

. In 2017, she announced that she would be starring in and producing the short film ''The Order'' and had cast many ''Power Rangers'' alumni.

Filmography

Film

* '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'' (1995) as Aisha Campbell / The Yellow Ranger * '' Devon's Ghost: Legend of the Bloody Boy'' (2005) as Symphony * ''The Order'' (2017) as Alyssa * ''Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel'' (2017) as Herself * '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always'' (2023) as Aisha Campbell / The second Yellow Ranger

Television

* ''In Studio 4-B'' (1994) as Various * ''

'' (1994–1996) as Aisha Campbell / The Yellow Ranger * ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Alpha's Magical Christmas'' (1994) as Aisha Campbell * '' Hangin' With Mr. Cooper'' (1996) as Monica Carson * ''

Boston Common The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charl ...

'' (1996–1997) as Wyleena Pritchett-Steele * ''

'' (1999) as Melissa—Season 4 episode 5, "The Limo" * ''Power Rangers: The Lost Episode'' (1999) as Aisha Campbell (special episode/archival footage) * ''

The Steve Harvey Show ''The Steve Harvey Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Winifred Hervey and directed by Stan Lathan that aired on The WB from August 25, 1996 to February 17, 2002, with a total of 122 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. Syn ...

'' (1999–2000) as Carrie McKnight (two episodes) * ''

'' (2000) as Bride—Season 2, "Wedding Bell Blues" * '' One on One'' (2002) as Angie—Season 1, "Me and My Shadow * ''Class Dismissed'' (2016) as Brandy

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley, Karan 20th-century African-American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American comedians Actresses from Texas African-American female comedians African-American film producers African-American television producers American actresses of Mexican descent American film actresses American stand-up comedians American television actresses American women comedians American women film producers American women television producers Comedians from Texas Hispanic and Latino American actresses Living people Year of birth missing (living people)