| Tatyana Ali | |
|---|---|
Tatyana Ali at the U.S. Presidential Inauguration (2009) |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tatyana Marisol Ali |
| Also known as | Ty, Taty |
| Born | January 24, 1979 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Origin | North Bellmore, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, soul, dance-pop |
| Occupations | Actress Singer Model |
| Years active | 1985 – present (actress) 1997 – present (singer) |
| Labels | MJJ/Work/SME Records (1997–2001) |
| Associated acts | Will Smith, Alfonso Ribeiro, Johnny "J" |
| Website | http://www.tatyanaalionline.com/ |
Tatyana Marisol Ali (born January 24, 1979) is an American actress and R&B singer, best known for her childhood role as Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.[1] Currently, she stars as Tyana Jones on the TV One original sitcom Love That Girl!, and has a recurring role as Roxanne on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless.
Contents |
Tatyana Marisol Ali was born in Long Island, New York. Her mother Sonia was a nurse and is of Afro-Panamanian descent. Her father Sherriff Ali is Trinidadian of Indian descent. She has two younger sisters, Anastasia and Kimberly.
She attended 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.[2]
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, Tatyana 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".[3] 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 the indie film, Rockin' Meera directed by Param Gill in 2005.
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.[4]
Ali currently can be seen in the show, Love That Girl! on TV One. She stars as Tyana (which comes from the last five letters of her name). When asked if the character bears any similarities to her, Tatyana said in a recent CaribPress interview, "She's a bit neurotic and I hope I am not quite like that."[1]
"One thing that I do love about her is that she is really multidimensional," she went on to say in the same interview. "I think it's nice to have a female character that is portrayed in (a) really holistic way."[1]
Tatyana also starred in Nora's Hair Salon and Nora's Hair Salon 2: A Cut Above.
In 2011, Tatyana received the Living Legacy Award from the Caribbean Heritage Organization in Los Angeles.[1][5]
Ali dated actor Jonathan Brandis from 1995 to 1998. Brandis later died in 2003 from injuries after attempting to hanging himself.[2]
Ali traveled the United States as a spokesperson for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Ali headed voter registration drives at college campuses.
| 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 | |
| 2011 | 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 |
| 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 | 148 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" |
| 2007–2010 | The Young and the Restless | Roxanne | |
| 2010– present |
Love That Girl! | Tyana Jones | Lead role |
| Year | Album | Chart |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Kiss the Sky | (#47 US, #41 UK; certified Gold) |
| Year | Song | U.S. | U.S. R&B | UK[6] | NZ[7] | FRA[8] | NET[9] | 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 | — | — | — | — | — |
|
|||||||||||