Nia Long

Nitara Carlynn "Nia" LongNia Long. tvguide.com (born October 30, 1970) is an African American actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Third Watch, and the films In Too Deep, Boyz n the Hood, Friday, Boiler Room, Soul Food, Love Jones, The Best Man, Big Momma's House, Are We There Yet? and the sequels to the latter three films.
==Early life==
Long was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Talita (née Gillman), a teacher and printmaker, and Doughtry "Doc" Long, a high school teacher and poet.Renée Cummings (March 10, 2012) Talita Long, mother of actress Nia Long... trinidadexpress.com Her family is of Trinidadian, Grenadian, and Bajan descent.Nia Long Biography (1970–). filmreference.comLauryn Hill, Nia Long. BV Entertainment Newswire – AOL Black Voices. December 21, 2005Pandora's Box: Mashonda Interviews Nia Long. vibe.com. September 15, 2010 She has an older half-sister, the actress and comedian known as Sommore.
Long was two years old when her parents divorced. She accompanied her mother when she moved to Iowa City, Iowa, to study fine arts. Her mother moved to South Los Angeles when Long was seven years old, as she planned to marry there. She and her fiance called off the wedding, but Talita chose to stay in Los Angeles. Long's father resides in Trenton, New Jersey.
Long attended the Roman Catholic school St. Mary's Academy in Inglewood, California. She was bused from South Los Angeles to Paseo Del Rey Elementary School in Playa Del Rey from 3rd grade through 6th grade. In addition to her academic classes, she studied ballet, tap, jazz, gymnastics, guitar, and acting. She graduated from Westchester High School in Los Angeles in 1989.
==Career==
Long's acting coach was Betty Bridges, better known as the mother of Diff'rent Strokes star Todd Bridges. Her earliest role was in the Disney television movie, The B.R.A.T Patrol alongside Sean Astin, Tim Thomerson and Brian Keith. Her first notable role on television was a three-year contract role as Kathryn "Kat" Speakes on the soap opera Guiding Light. Long portrayed Kat from 1991 to 1994. Long played Brandi in Boyz n the Hood. The film excited Long, who was doing her "first real movie role" would helped Long build her confidence as an actress. "It introduced me to the world in a way that it was okay for me to be who I am and still find success," she added. "I didn’t have to conform to anything."Melton, Nicole Marie Nia Long Reflects on 20th Anniversary of 'Boyz n the Hood' (July 14, 2011) From 1994 – 1995, she played Will Smith's girlfriend and fiancée Beulah "Lisa" Wilkes on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Jada Pinkett-Smith was originally supposed to play Lisa, but was too short for the role (opposite a 6'2" Will Smith), thus leaving Nia to take the part.
In 2000, Long was offered the role of Alex Munday in Charlie's Angels, but she turned it down, and the role was eventually given to Lucy Liu. In 2003, she joined the cast of the drama Third Watch, where she played NYPD Officer Sasha Monroe, continuing until the series finale in 2005. In 2005 and 2006, Long appeared on Everwood, and appeared on Boston Legal during its 2006–2007 season. Long also starred in Big Shots from 2007–2008 alongside Michael Vartan and Dylan McDermott.
Long appeared in supporting roles in a number of movies such as Friday and Made in America. Long played a leading role, or a member of the primary ensemble, in several films, including Soul Food, Love Jones, Boiler Room, Big Momma's House, Are We There Yet?, and The Best Man. Ice Cube has starred with her in four films, while (fellow Westchester High alum) Regina King has starred with her in two. Long starred alongside Michael Beach in Soul Food and in the TV series Third Watch.
Long appears in the video for Kanye West's "Touch the Sky". She directed Yolanda Adams's music video for "This Too Shall Pass". She won a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 2004 for her performance on Third Watch. Long co-directed and appeared in Ashanti's music video, "Baby". She also made a guest appearance on the successful sitcom Living Single during its first season.
She appeared in the 2013 film The Best Man Holiday, reprising her role from the original 1999 film. Unlike the original film, however, her character is in an interracial relationship with a caucasian man. Long was revealed to have pursuing an interracial relationship in the film and explained: "We're living in a modern world where it happens and it's OK and it's no disrespect to any black man. I love black men, but the reality is the sistahs are marrying white men and the brothas are marrying white women and that's the world that we live in and it's not to be judged, and if it works for you then embrace it". Director Malcolm D. Lee also supported the interracial relationship being portrayed in the film. "African-American women who are extremely successful can't always find black male counterparts on that level so it's a little bit of a reflection of reality that black women are starting to date outside their race — and why not?"
==Personal life==
Long started dating Ime Udoka in 2010, and gave birth to their son, Kez Sunday Udoka on November 7, 2011.The couple became engaged in May 2015. She also has another son, Massai Zhivago Dorsey II (born November 26, 2000), from a previous relationship.
The actress contributes her time to the Sterling Children's Home in Barbados, as a motivational speaker.
Long is a supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
==Filmography==
===Film===
Year	Film 	Role 	Notes
1990	Buried Alive 	Fingers 	
1991	Boyz n the Hood 	Brandi 	
1993	Made in America 	Zora Mathews 	
1995	Friday 	Debbie 	
1997	Love Jones 	Nina Mosley 	
1997	Hav Plenty 	Trudy 	
1997	Soul Food 	Tracy "Bird" Joseph 	
1998	Butter 	Carmen Jones 	
1999	In Too Deep 	Myra 	
1999	The Best Man 	Jordan Armstrong 	Winner of a Black Reel Award for Best Actress and a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
1999	Stigmata 	Donna Chadway 	
1999	Held Up 	Rae 	
1999	The Secret Laughter of Women 	Nimi Da Silva 	
2000	The Broken Hearts Club:A Romantic Comedy	Leslie 	
2000	Boiler Room 	Abbie Halpert 	Nominated for a Black Reel Award
2000	Big Momma's House 	Sherry Pierce 	
2003	BAADASSSSS! 	Sandra 	
2004	The N-Word 	Herself 	Documentary
2004	Alfie 	Lonette 	Nominated for a Black Reel Award
2005	Are We There Yet? 	Suzanne Kingston 	
2006	Big Momma's House 2 	Sherry Pierce-Turner 	Reprising her role from the 2000 film Big Momma's House
2007	Premonition 	Annie 	
2007	Are We Done Yet? 	Suzanne Kingston-Persons	Reprising her role from the 2005 film Are We There Yet?
2008	Gospel Hill 	Yvonne Palmer 	
2009	Good Hair 	Herself 	Documentary
2010	Mooz-lum 	Safiyah 	
2013	The Best Man Holiday 	Jordan Armstrong 	Reprising her role from the 1999 film The Best Man
2014	The Single Moms Club 	May Miller 	
2016	Keanu 	Hannah 	
2016	The Best Man Wedding 	Jordan Armstrong 	In Production
===Television===
Year 	Film 	Role 	Notes
1986 	227 	Girl 	1 episode (uncredited)
1986 	The B.R.A.T. Patrol 	Darla Perkins 	Television Movie
1991–1993	Guiding Light 	Katherine "Kat" Speakes 	unknown episodes
1993 	Living Single 	Stacey Evans 	1 episode
1994–1995	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Lisa Wilkes / Claudia 	15 episodes
1995–1996	Live Shot 	Ramona Greer 	Recurring Role
1996 	ER 	Christy Wilson 	1 episode
1996 	Moesha 	Ruth 	2 episodes
1998 	Black Jaq 	Jaqueline "Jaq" Blackman	Television Pilot
2000 	If These Walls Could Talk 2	Karen 	Television Movie; "1972" segment
2001–2002	Judging Amy 	Andrea Solomon 	6 episodes
2002 	Sightings: Heartland Ghost 	Lou 	Television Movie
2003–2005	Third Watch 	Officer Sasha Monroe 	45 episodes
2006 	Everwood 	Cassie 	1 episode
2007 	Boston Legal 	Vanessa Walker 	3 episodes
2007–2008	Big Shots 	Katie Graham 	11 episodes
2009–2010	The Cleveland Show 	Roberta Tubbs 	13 episodes
2010 	Boston's Finest 	Taylor Sanchez 	Television Pilot
2011 	Chase 	Melissa Randolph 	1 episode
2012 	House of Lies 	Tamara 	9 episodes
2014 	The Divide 	Billie Page 	8 episodes
2015 	Real Husbands of Hollywood 	Herself 	1 episode
2016 	Uncle Buck 	Cindy Russell 	Main role
==Awards and nominations==
BET Comedy Awards	BET Comedy Awards 	BET Comedy Awards
Year 	Category 	Result
2005 	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Theatrical Film (Alfie)	
Black Reel Awards	Black Reel Awards 	Black Reel Awards
Year 	Category 	Result
2005 	Best Supporting Actress (Alfie) 	
2001 	Best Supporting Actress (Boiler Room)	
2000 	Best Actress (The Best Man) 	
Image Awards	Image Awards 	Image Awards
Year 	Category 	Result
2005 	Outstanding Actress in a Television Drama (Third Watch) 	
2004 	Outstanding Actress in a Television Drama (Third Watch) 	
2001 	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Big Momma's House) 	
2001 	Outstanding Actress in Television Movie/Mini-Series (If These Walls Could Talk 2)	
2000 	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (The Best Man) 	
==References==
==External links==
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Category:1970 births
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Iowa
Category:Actresses from Los Angeles, California
Category:Actresses from New York City
Category:African-American actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:American motivational speakers
Category:American television actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:American people of Barbadian descent
Category:American people of Grenadian descent
Category:American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent
Category:American soap opera actresses
Category:Living people
Category:People from Brooklyn
Category:People from Iowa City, IowaCategory:Pages stolen off Wikipedia