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Beauty News: Sam Fine in Maryland and Miami This Weekend

Scandalous Beauty - Found Mar. 18, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010 The Beauty Suite in Miami, FL Celebrity Guest Stars include Nia Long, Nicole Ari Parker-Kodjoe and Cynthia Bailey...

Posted on March 18, 2010, 8:22 am

Spotted Out: Nia Long Attends Dreamgirls on Stage...

Hip Candy - Found Mar. 3, 2010
Nia Long attends the "Dreamgirls" Opening Night at Ahmanson Theatre on March 2, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. Chick is looking fab.

Posted on March 3, 2010, 5:28 am

Feb 21, 2006 Hair Cuts Pictures. Nia Long. Short Dark Brown Straight ...

Celebrity Hair Styles Blog - Found Feb. 20, 2010
2006 hair cuts pictures. Picture of Nia Long with straight short hair style. Dark Brown updo hair. Celebrity hairstyle photo.

Posted on February 20, 2010, 10:53 am

I'll return for more, says Long

Fiji Times - Found Feb. 5, 2010
GORGEOUS Nia Long says Fijian children have provided her with an eye-opening experience which cannot be compared to those from any of her other

Posted on February 5, 2010, 6:11 am

BET BEAUTY LOUNGE: NIA LONG

BET.com - Found Dec. 28, 2009
BACK 1 of 15 Nia Long's The sexy sweetheart generously detailed her entire skin regimen from head to toe, and even gave us some tips on diet and

Posted on December 28, 2009, 10:33 am

Goran Visnjic among latest pilot castings

Hollywood Reporter - Found Mar. 16, 2010
'ER' alum Goran Visnjic is in negotiations to star opposite Katee Sackhoff in the ABC drama pilot 'Boston's Finest,' which also has cast Nia Long.
Goran Visnjic joins ABC crime drama pilot - Yahoo! News
Goran Visnjic joins ABC crime drama pilot (Reuters) - Yahoo! News
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Posted on March 16, 2010, 9:47 am

What Men Think Of Our Beauty Rituals

Essence Magazine - Found Mar. 12, 2010
That is silly to think that the only way to be beautiful is with a long weave. Even Nia Long loses Black male fans every time she wears a weave.

Posted on March 12, 2010, 7:43 am

Hottest Articles on BWW from Wednesday, Mar. 10

Broadway World - Found Mar. 10, 2010
... of producers' lists is film star Eddie Murphy, followed by a host of other celebrities including Nia Long, Sanaa Lathan, Sean Combs, Wesley...

Posted on March 10, 2010, 9:12 am

Rialto Chatter: Eddie Murphy to Lead All-Star African-American Cast ...

Broadway World - Found Mar. 10, 2010
... of producers' lists is film star Eddie Murphy, followed by a host of other celebrities including Nia Long, Sanaa Lathan, Sean Combs, Wesley...
Lucy Liu Heads to Late Night - Broadway.com
Explore All

Posted on March 10, 2010, 11:38 am

Hollywood's Need for Diversity Inclusion

Associated Content - Found Mar. 10, 2010
Hollywood's elite like, Cicely Tyson, Angela Bassett, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Taraji P. Henson, Anika Noni Rose and Nia Long, just to name a few.

Posted on March 10, 2010, 7:20 am

Nia Long Biography

Nia Long
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Nia Long

Long in October 2007
Born Nia Long
October 30, 1970 (1970-10-30) (age 39)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation Actress/Director
Years active 1990–present
Domestic partner(s) Massai Z. Dorsey Sr. (2000-2001)

Nia Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress and occasional music video director. She is best known for her roles in the television series The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air and Third Watch, and the films Soul Food, Love Jones, The Best Man, Big Momma's House, and Are We There Yet?.

Contents

Early years

Long was born in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. to Talita, a teacher and printmaker, and Doughtry "Doc" Long, a high school teacher and poet. Her family is of Afro-Trinidadian descent.123 Her stage name, Nia, is one of the seven days of Kwanzaa, which means "PURPOSE" in Swahili. Long's parents divorced when she was two years old, and she and her mother moved to Iowa City, Iowa, where her mother studied fine arts. They subsequently moved to a South Los Angeles neighborhood when Long was seven. Long's father currently resides in Trenton, New Jersey. Long's half-sister is comedienne Sommore, one of the stars of The Queens of Comedy.

Long attended the Roman Catholic school St. Mary's Academy4 and studied ballet, tap, jazz, gymnastics, guitar and acting. She graduated from Westchester High School in 1989. Due to the lack of employment opportunities in the arts in Los Angeles when Long and her mother first arrived there, Long's mother took various low-paying jobs (despite having two master's degrees). The family suffered through financial struggle for years.

Career

For 30 years, Long was instructed by acting coach Betty Bridges, better known as the mother of Diff'rent Strokes star Todd Bridges. Her first notable role was a three-year contract role as Kathryn "Kat" Speakes on the soap opera Guiding Light. Long portrayed Kat from 1991 to 1994. From 1994 - 1995, she played Will Smith's girlfriend and fiancée Beulah "Lisa" Wilkes on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Jada Pinkett-Smith was originally supposed to play Lisa, but was too short for the role (opposite a 6'2" Will Smith), thus leaving Nia to take the part. In 2003, she joined the cast of the drama Third Watch, where she played NYPD Officer Sasha Monroe, continuing until the series finale in 2005. In 2005 and 2006, Long appeared on Everwood, and appeared on Boston Legal during its 2006-2007 season. Long also starred in Big Shots from 2007-2008 alongside Michael Vartan and Dylan McDermott.

Long appeared in supporting roles in a number of movies such as Boyz N the Hood, Friday, and Made in America. Long played a leading role, or a member of the primary ensemble, in several films, including Soul Food, Love Jones, Boiler Room, Big Momma's House, Are We There Yet?, and The Best Man. Ice Cube has starred with her in four films, while Regina King has starred with her in two. Long starred alongside Michael Beach in Soul Food and in the TV series Third Watch.

Long appears in the video for Kanye West's "Touch The Sky". She directed Yolanda Adams's music video for "This Too Shall Pass". Long was voted one of the 50 most beautiful people in the World 2000 by People. She won a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 2004 for her performance on Third Watch. Long co-directed and appeared in Ashanti's music video, "Baby". She also made a guest appearance on the successful sitcom Living Single during its first season.

Personal life

With regard to being a working mother, Long says "she is up for the challenge so long as it does not require disturbing her family's well-being". "If I’m gonna hustle, I want to hustle in one place... I uprooted everything, moved to New York for two years, moved back and it was great but I really am enjoying the stability."5

Long and her former long-time boyfriend and fellow actor Massai Z. Dorsey have a son, Massai Zhivago Dorsey II, born on November 26, 2000. Dorsey and Long were engaged to be married, but ended their relationship.citation needed

Filmography

Television work

Awards/Nominations

BET Comedy Awards
Year Category Result
2005 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Theatrical Film (Alfie) Nominated


Black Reel Awards
Year Category Result
2005 Best Supporting Actress (Alfie) Nominated
2001 Best Supporting Actress (Boiler Room) Nominated
2000 Best Actress (The Best Man) Won


Image Awards
Year Category Result
2005 Outstanding Actress in a Television Drama ("Third Watch") Won
2004 Outstanding Actress in a Television Drama ("Third Watch") Won
2001 Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Big Momma's House) Nominated
Outstanding Actress in Television Movie/Mini-Series (If These Walls Could Talk 2) Nominated
2000 Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture(The Best Man) Won

References

External links