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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 (1979-01-24) (age 31) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Origin	North Bellmore, New York, U.S.
Genres	R&B, Soul, Dance-pop
Occupations	Actress Singer
Years active	1985 — present (actress) 1997 — present (singer)
Labels	MJJ/Work/SME Records (1997—2001)
Associated acts	Will Smith, Alfonso Ribeiro
Website	http://www.tatyanaalionline.com

Tatyana Marisol Ali (born January 24, 1979) is an American actress and R&B singer, best known for her role as Ashley Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 5 Discography 5.1 Albums 5.2 Chart Performance 6 Awards and nominations 7 References 8 External links

Early life

Ali was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 24, 1979. Her mother Sonia was a nurse and is of Afro-Panamanian descent. Her father Sheriff is of Trinidadian descent. She has two younger sisters, Anastasia and Kimberly. She attended Saw Mill Road Elementary School and Grand Avenue Junior High School in Bellmore, New York, Marymount High School in West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, and The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California. In 2002, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Government and African American Studies from Harvard University.¹

Career

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 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.

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".² The album is titled "The Light". Much of the album's production was being handled by famed Tupac Shakur's producer Johnny "J".

She is also producing and starring in the web show, Buppies.

She is currently on recurring status on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Roxanne.³

Ali currently can be seen in Love That Girl! on TV One as the lead character.

Personal life

Ali dated the late American actor Jonathan Brandis from 1995 to 1998,¹ with whom she co-starred in the TV movie Fall Into Darkness.

Ali traveled the United States as a spokesperson for Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Campaign. Ali headed voter registration drives at college campuses, including many historically black colleges and universities.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1987	Eddie Murphy Raw	Eddie's Sister	Sketch Segment
1988	Crocodile Dundee II	Park Girl
	Wow, You're a Cartoonist!	Child Cartoonist	Short film Direct-to-Video Release
1997	Fakin' da Funk	Karyn
	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
	Domino One	Laeticia Richards
2006	Glory Road	Tina Malichi
	A Warm Place	Clair Andrews	Short film
2007	The List	Cynthia
2008	Down & Out		Short film
	Nora's Hair Salon II	Lilleana
	Hotel California	Jessie
2009	Mother and Child	Maria
2010	Love That Girl!	Tyana
	Privileged	Talia	awaiting release
	Locker 13	Lucy	awaiting release
	The Misguided Adventures of Dating in Hollywood	Troi	pre-production
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985, 1990	Sesame Street	Tatyana	4 episodes
1989	Wally and the Valentines	Jamaica Valentine	TV-Special
	A Man Called Hawk	Michelle	Episode: Life After Death
	The Cosby Show	Girl	Episode: Shall We Dance?
1990–1996	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Ashley Banks	133 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
	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?
	Kidz in the Wood	Rita	TV-Movie
	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–present	The Young and the Restless	Roxanne

Discography

Albums

• 1998: Kiss the Sky (#47 US, #41 UK, Certified Gold)
• 2010: The Light²

Chart Performance

Year	Song	U.S.	U.S. R&B	UK	NZ4	FRA5	NET6	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	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and nominations

NAACP Image Awards

• 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

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

• 1996: Nominated, "Favorite Television Actress" - The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Young Artist Award

• 1991: Won, "Best Young Actress Starring in a New 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"

YoungStar Award

• 1997: Won, "Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy TV Series" - The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

References

External links

• Tatyana Ali's Official Website
• Tatyana Ali at the Internet Movie Database
• Tatyana Ali at Allmovie

Persondata
NAME	Ali, Tatyana
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American actress, singer
DATE OF BIRTH	January 24, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH