Sanaa Lathan

Sanaa McCoy Lathan(/səˈnɑːˈleɪθən/;born September 19, 1971)is an American actress. She is the daughter of actress Eleanor McCoy and film directorStan Lathan. Her career began after she appeared in the showsIn the House,Family Matters,NYPD Blue, andMoesha. Lathan later garnered further prominence after starring in the 1998 superhero filmBlade, which followed with film roles inThe Best Man(1999),Love & Basketball(2000),Disappearing Acts(2000), andBrown Sugar(2002).
In 2004, Lathan's performance in theBroadwayrevival ofA Raisin in the Sun, earned her a nomination at theTony AwardsforBest Featured Actress in a Play. Following this, she played the role ofAlexa "Lex" Woodsin the filmAlien vs. Predator. In 2008, she landed a leading role in filmThe Family That PreysbyTyler Perry. Lathan returned to theatre work in 2010, starring in the all-black performance ofCat on a Hot Tin Roofat theNovello Theatrein London.She reprised her role as Robyn in the Christmas-themed sequel ofThe Best Man, inThe Best Man Holiday(2013). In 2022,  she received a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, for her work on the television seriesSuccession.
As avoice actress, from (2009 to 2013), she voicedDonna TubbsinThe Cleveland Showand in all concurrent and subsequentFamily Guyappearances, as well asCatwomanonHarley Quinn. Her other notable film credits includeOut of Time(2003),Something New(2006),Wonderful World(2009),Contagion(2011),Repentance(2013),The Perfect Guy(2015), andNow You See Me 2(2016). Lathan also made her directorial debut with the filmOn the Come Upin 2022.
Lathan was born in New York City.Her mother, Eleanor McCoy, was also an actress and dancerwho performed onBroadwaywithEartha Kitt. Her father,Stan Lathan, worked behind the scenes in television forPBS, as well as a producer on shows such asSanford & SonandRussell Simmons'Def Comedy Jam[Beat Street]. Her brother is Tendaji Lathan, a well known DJ. She attendedManhattan Center for Science and Mathematicsas well asBeverly Hills High School.
Lathan's adolescence was a tough period. She has stated she was alatchkey kidwhose parents weren't around much.  As a result, she was left with relatives who happened to suffer from drug abuse.  However, she went on to develop a solid relationship with her parents in the ensuing years.
She graduated from theUniversity of California, Berkeley, with a bachelor's degree in English. She then attendedYale Universityand earned a master's degree in drama.
Following her training at Yale, where she studied withEarle R. Gisterand performed in a number ofShakespeareplays, Lathan earned acclaim bothoff-Broadwayand on the Los Angeles stage. Encouraged by her father to make Los Angeles her professional base, she found early television roles in episodes of such shows asIn the House,Family Matters,NYPD Blue, andMoesha.
In 1998, Lathan earned a degree of recognition with her role as the mother ofWesley Snipes' title character inBlade.The following year she appeared inLifewithMartin LawrenceandEddie Murphyand did back-to-back turns inThe Best ManandThe Wood.The Best Man,a comedy-dramaensemblefilm starringTaye Diggs,Nia Long,Harold Perrineau Jr.andMorris Chestnut,was one of the top ten highest-grossing African American films in history, and Lathan received an NAACP Image Award nomination for her performance.The Wood, another ensemble film starring Diggs andOmar Epps, cast her as Epps' love interest.
Lathan and Epps were reunited onscreen inGina Prince-Bythewood'sLove & Basketball, this time as a couple as passionate about basketball as they are about each other.Her performance earned Lathan the 2001NAACP Image Awardfor Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, anIndependent Spirit Awardnomination for Best Actress, and aBET Award. In 2000, she appeared in the Off-Broadway production ofThe Vagina MonologueswithTeri GarrandJulianna Margulies.
In 2001, Lathan earned acclaim for her work in the multicultural comedy filmCatfish in Black Bean Sauce.Next was her second collaboration with Prince-Bythewood,Disappearing Acts,based on a novel byTerry McMillan.In theHBOfilm, she played an aspiring singer/songwriter in love with a carpenter, played by herBladeco-star Wesley Snipes. For her work in the film, she earned anEssence Awardfor Best Actress. That year, she was named byEbonymagazine as one of its55 Most Beautiful Peopleand was honoured byEssencemagazine andBlack Entertainment Television. In 2002, Lathan starred in the romantic comedy film,Brown SugarwithDiggs,Queen LatifahandMos Def.Lathan's performance earned an NAACP Image Award Nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture. The film also received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Motion Picture. In 2003 she co-starred withDenzel WashingtoninOut of Time.
In 2004, Lathan starred on Broadway inA Raisin in the SunwithSean Combs,Audra McDonald, andPhylicia Rashad, and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress for her portrayal of Beneatha Younger. She reprised the role in ABC Network's2008 film adaptation.
The same year, she was given the lead role inAlien vs. Predator.It was a major success, grossing over $171 million worldwide.With this role she held onto a 15-year record for biggest opening weekend for a film starring a Black woman, debuting with $38.2 million.
In 2006, she co-starred withSimon Bakerin the romantic comedySomething New,and as Michelle Landau, the much younger wife of a Texas businessman (Larry Hagman) in thefourth seasonof the television seriesNip/Tuck.She played Andrea inTyler Perry'sThe Family That Preys, also starringAlfre WoodardandKathy Bates, released in the U.S. on September 12, 2008.
In 2009, Lathan co-starred withMatthew Broderickin the dramaWonderful World.From 2009 to 2013, she voiced the characterDonna TubbsonThe Cleveland Show.In 2011, Lathan co-starred in theSteven SoderberghthrillerContagionwithMatt Damon,Jude Law,Marion Cotillard,Kate Winslet,Gwyneth Paltrow,Bryan Cranston, andLaurence Fishburne. In 2011, she starred withAnthony MackieandForest WhitakerinRepentance, a psychological thriller directed by Phillipe Caland.She played series regular Mona Fredricks in the second season ofStarz' original seriesBoss, starringKelsey Grammer.
In 2013, Lathan reprised her role inThe Best Man′s sequel,The Best Man Holiday.In 2016, she was cast in the ensemble of the sequel ofNow You See Me,entitledNow You See Me 2, which was a box-office success; and in the science fiction filmApproaching the Unknown. In 2017, she returned to TV in a lead role in the seriesShots Fired, and also appeared in the filmAmerican Assassin. She was then added to the main cast ofThe Affair, appearing in its fourth and fifth seasons, and starred in theNetflixfilmNappily Ever After.
In January 2021, it was announced that she was cast in season 3 ofSuccessionas a Lisa Arthur, a high profile, well-connected New York lawyer earning her anPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
In 2021, Lathan directed the film adaptation ofAngie Thomas's novelOn the Come Up.The film premiered at the2022 Toronto International Film Festival.