Tatyana Ali

Actress, Singer & Activist

Tatyana Ali

Actress, Singer & Activist

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Biography

Tatyana Ali is a Broadway-trained actress, singer, producer, activist and graduate of Harvard University. She is known to millions worldwide for her role as "Ashley Banks" on the iconic television series The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Ali can be seen recurring on BET's Zoe Ever After which premieres in January 2016. Other noteworthy television roles include the sharp-witted assistant "Maya" in the hit BET comedy Second Generation Wayans and Roxanne on the long-running CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless.

She and sister Anastasia Ali helm HazraH Entertainment, a production company dedicated to creating quality content for underserved communities. The company was a production partner on the Martin Lawrence executive-produced sitcom Love That Girl!, the first original scripted program on the TV One Network, and it recently produced the acclaimed web series Buppies for BET.com.

The five-time NAACP Image Award winner, named one of most beautiful women in the world by People Magazine in 2011, has appeared in numerous films including Kiss the Girls, Jawbreaker, The Brothers, Glory Road, Mother and Child, Home Again, and November Rule.

As a recording artist, she holds a gold record from her 1998 debut album Kiss the Sky, which included the hit singles "Daydreamin'" and "Boy You Knock Me Out." The success of the album allowed her the opportunity to join both *NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys on their world tours. In 1999, her recording of "Precious Wings" for The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland soundtrack won a Grammy Award for "Best Musical Album for Children." In 2013 Ali released the independent EP Hello to great reviews.

Ali is a fierce advocate for youth and education. During the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, she acted as a surrogate for President Obama, traveling to locations across the United States and speaking to communities about the importance of voting. She has been a spokesperson for the Millennium Momentum Foundation and is actively involved in the Step Up Women's Network, two organizations dedicated to educating and professionally developing young people for leadership roles that will impact their communities. As the host of the United Negro College Fund's "Empower Me" Tour, she has traveled the country inspiring students to take control of their academic, personal and professional destinies. Ali sits on the Teach For America Ambassadors Board and served as the National Co-Chair of the SAG-AFTRA Young Performers Committee. In fall of 2011, BET and the Black Girls Rock organization honored Ali as their "Young, Gifted and Black" woman of the year for her longstanding record of youth advocacy work.