Tatyana Ali

**Tatyana Marisol Ali** (born January 24, 1979) is an American actress and singer best known for her role as Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom *The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air* from 1990 to 1996. She starred as Tyana Jones on the TV One original series *Love That Girl!*, and played a recurring role as Roxanne on the CBS soap opera *The Young and the Restless* from 2007 to 2013.

## Early life

Ali was born in North Bellmore, New York, on January 24, 1979, the eldest daughter of Sheriff and Sonia Ali. Tatyana was born a Dougla to an Indo-Trinidadian father and an Afro-Panamanian mother.

## Career

In 1985, six-year-old Ali began her acting career as a regular performer on the children's PBS educational program *Sesame Street*, appearing with jazz great Herbie Hancock in a musical number during her tenure. She also appeared in two episodes of *Star Search,* one of which featured her performance of a cover of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".

She made her breakthrough in 1990 when she was cast as Ashley Banks on the television sitcom *The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air*, a role she played throughout the series' entire run, from 1990 to 1996.

Ali's 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, Ali performed several songs, and she began to be groomed for her musical debut, the culmination of which was her debut album *Kiss The Sky* in 1998. It was certified gold in early 1999, mere months after its release, and spawned the Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins-produced hit single "Daydreamin'," released July 21, 1998, which peaked at No. 6 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and also appeared on the UK Singles Chart. The album spawned two further UK hits, "Boy You Knock Me Out" featuring Will Smith—which peaked at No. 3 and is her biggest hit to date—and "Everytime", which was her third top-20 hit in the UK, peaking at No. 20. She made an appearance on Smith's album *Willennium* on the track "Who Am I" with MC Lyte. She performed the title song "Sunny Valentine" along with Terrence Quaites for the indie film *Rockin' Meera* in 2005. 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, Ali released an EP titled *Hello*, whose first single was "Wait For It," which she performed on *The Arsenio Hall Show* on February 4, 2014.

Apart from her musical career, Ali 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. Ali 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, Ali received the Living Legacy Award from the Caribbean Heritage Organization in Los Angeles.

In July 2016, Ali sued Warner Bros claiming that the company stole her idea for the show *The Real* after she pitched the concept in December 2012. The case was dismissed in February 2017.

## Personal life

Ali attended Harvard University, where she received a bachelor's degree in African-American Studies and Government in 2002.She traveled the United States as a spokesperson for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, and headed voter registrationdrives at college campuses.

She dated television actor Jonathan Brandis from 1995 to 1998.

In March 2016, Ali revealed that she was engaged to Dr. Vaughn Rasberry, assistant professor of English at Stanford University, whom she had met on eHarmony, and they announced that they were expecting their first child. She and Rasberry married on July 17, 2016, in Beverly Hills, California. The couple have two sons.