Tatyana Marisol Ali (born January 24, 1979) is an American actress and singer. She's best known for her role as Ashley Banks on the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Tatyana Marisol Ali (born January 24, 1979) is an American actress and singer. She's best known for her role as Ashley Banks on the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
At the age of four she started singing and got a taste of fame when she begged her mother to take her to an audition for Sesame Street. In 1985, as a 6-year-old, she began her acting career as a regular performer on the PBS children's educational program Sesame Street.
She went on to perform in many productions in her native city, New York, including the Broadway show Fences--with James Earl Jones and, later, Billy Dee Williams--and the off-Broadway show Orfeo del Campo. When she was seven, she appeared on Star Search and won twice, receiving a four-star rating when she appeared for a second time.
At age 11, she moved from New York to Los Angeles to establish her career and not long afterwords landed her breakthrough role as Ashley Banks, Will Smith's character's cousin, on the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996).
While filming The Fresh Prince, she also had side projects, including guest roles in television shows such as The Cosby Show (1984), The All New Mickey Mouse Club (1989) (aka The Mickey Mouse Club), Kyno's Storytime (1992), Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990), and Foster's Field Trip (1994).
Her vocal talent was featured on several episodes of Fresh Prince in later seasons, prompting the show's star Will Smith to ask her if she would seriously consider pursuing a musical career. She ultimately decided, for the time being, to continue to concentrate on her acting career. In the series' final season, however, she performed several songs, and she began to be cleaned for her musical debut, the culmination of which was her debut album Kiss The Sky in 1998. It was certified gold in early 1999, only months after its release. "Boy You Knock Me Out" featuring Will Smith—which peaked at No. 3 and is her biggest hit to date.
She made an appearance on Smith's album Willennium on the track "Who Am I" with MC Lyte. 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 garnered coverage on the "What the Buzz" segment of ABC's World News Now. In January 2014, she released an EP titled Hello.
Apart from her musical career, she continued to land roles in films such as The Brothers, Glory Road, and Nora's Hair Salon (and its sequel), among others. From 2009 to 2010 she produced and starred in the BET web series Buppies.
She was on recurring status on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Roxanne from 2007 to 2013. She starred in the TV One original series Love That Girl! as Tyana (whose name was derived from Ali's given name). In 2013, she co-starred as Maya in the BET comedy Second Generation Wayans, alongside Craig Wayans and Damien Dante Wayans.
In 2011, she received the Living Legacy Award from the Caribbean Heritage Organization in Los Angeles.
External links
Filmography (Movies)
The Holiday Proposal Plan
Character:Sonny Kravitz
Release Date:16/12/2023
Giving Hope: The Ni'cola Mitchell Story
Character:Ni'cola Mitchell
Release Date:09/04/2023
Vanished: Searching for My Sister
Character:Jada Stallworth/Kayla Davis
Release Date:22/01/2022
A Picture Perfect Holiday
Character:Gaby
Release Date:13/11/2021
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion
Character:Self
Release Date:18/11/2020
The Reason
Character:Macey
Release Date:12/09/2020
Christmas Hotel
Character:Erin
Release Date:21/12/2019
Deadly Match
Character:Professor Savoy
Release Date:20/01/2019
Jingle Belle
Character:Belle Williams
Release Date:25/11/2018
Christmas Everlasting
Character:Lucy Toomey
Release Date:24/11/2018
Doe
Character:Rachel Hutton
Release Date:27/09/2018
Wrapped Up In Christmas
Character:Heather Nash
Release Date:25/11/2017
The Good Nanny
Character:Monica Thorne
Release Date:14/05/2017
Second Sight
Character:Clara
Release Date:23/04/2016
Dancing Man the Documentary
Character:Self
Release Date:17/09/2015
Supermodel
Character:Lauren
Release Date:15/06/2015
Fatal Flip
Character:Roslyn
Release Date:13/06/2015
November Rule
Character:Leah
Release Date:14/02/2015
Light Girls
Character:Self
Release Date:19/01/2015
A Very Larry Christmas
Character:Nicole
Release Date:09/12/2014
Comeback Dad
Character:Nima
Release Date:21/06/2014
Locker 13
Character:Lucy
Release Date:29/03/2014
The Divorce
Character:Victoria
Release Date:04/02/2014
The Last Letter
Character:Jillian
Release Date:17/12/2013
Dear Secret Santa
Character:Jennifer
Release Date:30/11/2013
23rd Psalm: Redemption
Character:Stacey Wayne
Release Date:21/05/2013
24 Hour Love
Character:Simply
Release Date:19/03/2013
Home Again
Character:Marva Johnson
Release Date:12/09/2012
Dysfunctional Friends
Character:Alex
Release Date:03/02/2012
Pete Smalls Is Dead
Character:Cocktail Waitress
Release Date:17/09/2010
Privileged
Character:Talia
Release Date:08/02/2010
Mother and Child
Character:Maria
Release Date:07/11/2009
Hotel California
Character:Jessie
Release Date:25/07/2008
Nora's Hair Salon II: A Cut Above
Character:Lilliana
Release Date:13/05/2008
The List
Character:Cynthia
Release Date:05/05/2007
Glory Road
Character:Tina
Release Date:13/01/2006
Back in the Day
Character:Alicia
Release Date:24/05/2005
Domino One
Character:Laeticia Richards
Release Date:11/03/2005
Nora's Hair Salon
Character:Lilleana
Release Date:25/05/2004
National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze
Character:Claire
Release Date:26/09/2003
The Brothers
Character:Cherie Smith
Release Date:23/03/2001
Brother
Character:Latifa
Release Date:13/12/2000
Scenes by the Sea: Takeshi Kitano
Character:
Release Date:05/05/2000
Jawbreaker
Character:Brenda
Release Date:30/01/1999
The Clown at Midnight
Character:Monica
Release Date:01/01/1998
Kiss the Girls
Character:Janell Cross
Release Date:29/09/1997
Fakin' Da Funk
Character:Karyn
Release Date:20/07/1997
Fall into Darkness
Character:Sharon McKay
Release Date:25/11/1996
Kidz in the Wood
Character:Rita
Release Date:25/05/1996
The Jaleel White Special
Character:Ramona
Release Date:22/02/1992
Wow, You're A Cartoonist!
Character:Child Cartoonist
Release Date:12/10/1988
Crocodile Dundee II
Character:Park Girl
Release Date:19/05/1988
Eddie Murphy Raw
Character:Singing Child
Release Date:25/11/1987
Television Appearances
Celebrity Weakest Link
Character:Self - Contestant
Perimeter
Character:Connie Dawn
Bel-Air
Character:Ms. Hughes
Abbott Elementary
Character:Crystal
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
Character:Self - Contestant
Secret Celebrity RuPaul's Drag Race
Character:Chakra 7 - Contestant
Fancy Nancy
Character:Bree’s Mom (voice)
My Big Fat Fabulous Life
Character:Self - Event Host
Second Generation Wayans
Character:Maya
The Eric Andre Show
Character:Self
Key & Peele
Character:Heresa
Love That Girl!
Character:Tyana Jones
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Character:Self - Guest
Child Star Confidential
Character:Self
Half & Half
Character:Olivia
Fastlane
Character:Shelly
Teen Choice Awards
Character:Self
The Magic Hour
Character:Self
In the House
Character:Ashley Banks
Living Single
Character:
Getting By
Character:
Name Your Adventure
Character:Host
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Character:
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Character:Ashley Banks
The Cosby Show
Character:Girl
Brains & Brawn
Character:Host
Images
