La La Anthony

La La Anthony
La La Anthony by Robert Ector
Born	Alani Nicole Vázquez (1979-06-25) June 25, 1979 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Other names	"La La"
Education	Piscataway High School
Occupation	Disc jockey television personality actress
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	Carmelo Anthony (m. 2010)
Children	Kiyan Anthony (b. 2007)

Alani Nicole "La La" Anthony (née Vázquez) is an American radio and television personality, New York Times best-selling author, business woman and actress.

In the early 2000s, La La came to prominence as an MTV VJ on Total Request Live. La La can currently be seen in the Starz original drama series, “Power,” executive produced by 50 Cent and starring Omari Hardwick and Naturi Naughton.

In 2014 La La reprised her role as Sonia in the film “Think Like a Man Too” and recently wrapped production on “November Rule” and “Destined," both due for release in 2015.

In 2004 La La became engaged to basketball player Carmelo Anthony and they were married by Michael Eric Dyson on July 10, 2010 at Cipriani's in New York before 320 guests. The ceremony was filmed by VH1 and aired as part of a reality series on the couple, titled "La La's Full Court Wedding." La La and Carmelo Anthony's son, Kiyan Carmelo Anthony, was born on March 7, 2007.

Early years

Vázquez was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents are both Nuyorican, people of Puerto Rican heritage born and raised in New York City. Vázquez (who describes herself as an Afro-Puerto Rican^[1]) has a younger brother and two younger sisters. As a young child, she was involved in many activities, but music was her main interest.^[2]

Career

At the age of 16 La La began her entertainment career in radio at Atlanta Hot 97 station. After a short internship at that station, and while still in high school, she was given her own show, the wildly popular Future Flavas, alongside rapper/actor Ludacris.

At 19 La La got an offer from LA’s 92.3 The Beat to co-host her own radio show, the B-Syde. After a successful run on the radio La La left 92.3 in 2001 and joined the MTV family. Although she had no previous on-TV experience, La La became the network’s premiere talent and went on to co-host two of their most popular shows, “Direct Effect,” and Total Request Live. During her time at MTV La La interviewed many high-profile stars including Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Will Smith and Angelina Jolie, among others.

In 2003 La La left the network to launch her own production company Krossover Productions and was a producer on Mike Tyson’s critically acclaimed documentary, “Tyson.” Directed by Academy and Golden Globe nominated writer/director James Toback, “Tyson” was named the winner of the Regard Knockout Award in France and debuted to a standing ovation in 2009’s Cannes Film Festival. La La and Krossover Productions also produced a feature film with director/producer Brett Ratner, and a starring role in “The Gun,”

La La made her film debut in 2001 in romantic comedy Two Can Play That Game. She starred in the 2012 film, Think Like a Man, alongside Gabrielle Union and Taraji P. Henson and the 2013 film “Baggage Claim” alongside Paula Patton and Derek Luke. La La had guest starring roles in the CBS crime drama, “NYC 22” and the popular Vh1 scripted show, “Single Ladies”. Other film credits include 'Urban Massacre (2002), Monster Island (2004), and You Got Served (2004).

In October 2011 La La made her stage debut in the Off Broadway production of “Love Loss and What I Wore”. La La also starred in and executive produced five seasons o“La La’s Full Court Wedding”, one of VH1’s highest rated shows, which chronicled the time leading up to her wedding to basketball star Carmelo Anthony.

On February 2, 2012, she launched MOTIVES by La La, at the Market America World Conference at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. Inspired to create a cosmetic line for women of color ranging in color variation, her cosmetic line consists of multiple mineral-based products for face, cheeks, eyes, lips and nails ^[3] ranging from $16 to $40.

In 2013 La La created a clothing line, “5th & Mercer”, a capsule collection exclusive to Shopbop.com and she continues to work on new designs for the line.

On January 28th 2014 La La released her debut book titled "The Love Playbook," in which she shares how she found love and success on her own terms. The book climbed to #1 on the Barnes & Noble Best Seller list and on February 7th hit Number One on the New York Times Best Sellers list. La La’s second book, entitled “The Power Playbook” will be released in May 2015.

Personal life

La La became engaged to basketball player Carmelo Anthony on Christmas Day, 2004.^[4][5] Their son, Kiyan Carmelo Anthony, was born on March 7, 2007.^[6][7] They were married by Michael Eric Dyson on July 10, 2010 at Cipriani's in New York before 320 guests.^[8][9] The ceremony was filmed by VH1 and aired as part of a reality series on the couple, titled La La's Full Court Wedding.^[10][11][12] The couple's life together is chronicled on their continuation series, La La's Full Court Life.^[13]

Filmography

See also

• List of notable Puerto Ricans
• Category:Hip hop DJs

References

External links

• Official website
• LaLa Vasquez at the Internet Movie Database
• MTV.com-Onair- Meet the Vjs
• Read MTV's profile of La La on MTV.TV
• LaLa Vazquez interview with DJ Whoo Kid, Sirius Radio/RadioPlanet.tv