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.
Early life
Ali was born in Long Island, New York, daughter of Sonia, a nurse, and Sheriff Ali, a police detective.Her mother is a Afro-Panamanian and her father is of East Indian descent from Trinidad and Tobago. She has two younger sisters, Anastasia and Kimberly. She is fluent in both English and Spanish.
She attended Marymount High School in West Los Angeles, Los Angele, California, and The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California. In 2002, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Harvard University.
Career
By the age of seven, Ali had begun her singing career. She also appeared with Herbie Hancock on an episode of Sesame Street. By age five, she won the Star Search television contest two times. Her breakthrough came when she was cast as Ashley Banks for the popular television sitcom Fresh Prince. She sang on various episodes of the show. On one of the shows Ali sings Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and the original song "Make Up Your Mind", Will Smith asked her if she seriously considered pursuing a musical career. Despite her singing ability, she concentrated on her acting career on Fresh Prince the next few years. Ali was said to be closest to her co-star Janet Hubert-Whitten.
In the penultimate season of Fresh Prince, 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 there; and "Everytime", which was her third top 20 hit in the UK, peaking at #20. Also with Will Smith, she made an appearance in his album Willennium for the track "Who Am I" with MC Lyte.
As of 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 2007, she appeared in the short films Wilted, How To Have A Girl, The Malibu Myth, and First Sight which were made during the reality show On the Lot. She appeared in 2 episodes of the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Roxanne.
She is currently preparing to release her second album, which she describes as "an independent effort".
She ranked #74 on VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars.
In early 2008, she lent her vocal talents to 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 ABC’s News Now’s What the Buzz.
Personal life
Ali once dated American actor Jonathan Brandis, with whom she co-starred in the TV movie Fall into Darkness. A fan of the Boston Red Sox, she attended their victorious final game in the 2004 World Series.
Ali is traveling the United States as a spokesperson for Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Campaign. Ali is heading voter registration drives at college campuses including many historically black colleges and universities.
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