Tatyana Marisol Ali (born January 23, 1979) is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a child actress, appearing on the PBS television program Sesame Street. She rose to prominence with her role as Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1990 to 1996. Her debut album Kiss the Sky (1998), was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, and spawned the hit single "Daydreamin'", which peaked in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.
She also starred on the TV One original series Love That Girl!, portrayed Roxanne on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless from 2007 to 2013, and voiced the character Mrs. James on the Disney Channel animated series Fancy Nancy.
Early life and education Tatyana Ali was born on January 24, 1979, in North Bellmore, New York. She is of mixed African and South Asian ancestry or Dougla, born to an Indo-Trinidadian father and an Afro-Panamanian mother. Ali graduated from The Buckley School in 1997. Ali attended Harvard University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in African-American Studies and Government in 2002. On a celebrity edition of the game show The Chase, which aired February 3, 2015, Ali stated that her major was political science.
Career In 1985, six-year-old Ali began her acting career as a regular performer on the PBS children's educational program Sesame Street. Her tenure included an appearance with jazz great Herbie Hancock, who demonstrated his Fairlight CMI synthesizer using a sample of Ali's voice. She also appeared in two episodes of Star Search, one of which featured her performance of a cover of Marvin Gaye's and Tammi Terrell's hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
She made her breakthrough in 1990 when she was cast as Ashley Banks on the NBC 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, ultimately culminating in her debut album Kiss the Sky in 1998. It was certified gold in early 1999, only 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 She dated actor Jonathan Brandis from 1995 to 2001.
She traveled the United States as a spokesperson for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, and headed voter registration drives at college campuses.
In March 2016, Ali revealed that she was engaged to Vaughn Rasberry, an 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. They have two sons. Rasberry has since become an associate professor and associate vice provost for graduate education at Stanford.
Ali is an honorary member of Zeta Phi Beta; she was inducted on July 27, 2024 at the sorority's Boulé in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1987 Eddie Murphy Raw Eddie's Sister 1988 Crocodile Dundee II Park Girl Wow, You're a Cartoonist! Child Cartoonist Video 1997 Kiss the Girls Janell Cross Fakin' da Funk Karyn 1998 The Clown at Midnight Monica 1999 Jawbreaker Brenda 2000 Brother Latifa 2001 The Brothers Cherie Smith 2003 National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze Claire 2004 Nora's Hair Salon Lilleana 2005 Domino One Laeticia Richards Back in the Day Alicia Packer 2006 Glory Road Tina Malichi A Warm Place Clair Andrews Short 2007 The List Cynthia 2008 Nora's Hair Salon 2: A Cut Above Lilleana Hotel California Jessie 2009 Locker 13: Down and Out LucyShort Mother and Child Maria 2010 Pete Smalls Is Dead Cocktail Waitress Privileged Talia Video 2011 Geo n Rat Det. Erica Anderson Short 23rd Psalm: Redemption Stacey Wayne 2012 Dysfunctional Friends Alex Home Again Marva Johnson 2013 24 Hour Love Simply The Last Letter Jillian A Very Larry Christmas Nicole 2014 The Divorce Victoria The Black Bachelor Herself Short Locker 13 Lucy Comeback Dad Nima 2015 Save for Now Woman Short November Rule Leah Supermodel Lauren Teachers Ms. Faith Mayfield Short2016 Samaria Audrey2017 Graham: A Dog's Story Stella 2018 Doe Rachel 2020 The Reason Macey 2022 It Snows All the Time Technologist 2026 Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?LindaCompleted
Television Year Title Role Notes 1984–1997 Sesame Street Tatyana Guest (seasons 16 & 18–19 & 23 & 28), recurring cast (season 17 & 21) 1987 Star Search Herself/Contestant Contestant (season 5) 1989 A Man Called Hawk Michelle Episode: "Life After Death" The Cosby Show Girl Episode: "Shall We Dance?" Wally and the Valentines Jamaica Valentine TV movie 1990–1996 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Ashley Banks Main cast 1992 Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Herself Episode: "Episode 2.1" & "2.45" 1993 Getting By Nicole Alexander/Vanessa Guest cast (season 1–2) 1994 Are You Afraid of the Dark? Laura/Connie Episode: "The Tale of the Quicksilver" 1995 Soul Train Herself/Guest Host Episode: "KRS-One/Dehorah Cox/Shaggy" In the House Ashley Banks Episode: "Dog Catchers" 1996 Living Single Stephanie James Episode: "Whatever Happened to Baby Sister?" Kidz in the WoodRitaTV movie Fall Into Darkness Sharon McKay 1997 413 Hope St. Kai Episode: "Heartbeat" 1998 All That Herself Episode: "Tatyana Ali" 1999 Live & Kicking Episode: "Episode 6.17" & "6.19" The Pop Zone Episode: "Episode 2.5" 2002 Fastlane Shelly Episode: "Girls Own Juice" 2003 Half & Half Olivia Episode: "The Big Condom-nation Episode" 2005 The Greatest Herself Episode: "100 Greatest Kid Stars" 2006 Child Star Confidential Episode: "Primetime Princess" 2007 Boulevard of Broken Dreams Episode: "Jonathan Brandis" On the Lot Episode: "First Sight" E! True Hollywood Story Episode: "Will Smith" 2007–2013 The Young and the Restless Roxanne Regular cast 2009 Catch 21 Herself/Contestant Episode: "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" 2009–2010 Buppies Quinci Main cast; also executive producer 2010 Running Russell Simmons Herself Episode: "You Only Live Once" 2010–2012 Love That Girl! Tyana Jones Main cast (season 1–3); also producer 2011 Unsung Herself Episode: "Deniece Williams" Pastport Episode: "Panama" 2013 Anderson Live Herself/Co-Host Episode: "Episode 2.82" Second Generation Wayans Maya Main cast Dear Secret Santa Jennifer 2014 The Daily Helpline Herself/Co-Host Episode: "Tatyana Ali" 2015 The Chase Herself/Contestant Episode: "Episode 5.2" Key & Peele Heresa Episode: "Hollywood Sequel Doctor" Fatal Flip Roslyn TV movie 2016 Zoe Ever After Ashley King Recurring cast Second Sight Clara TV movie 2017 90's House Herself Episode: "The One With the Big Finale" American Koko N'Shay Episode: "The Stig" Nanny's Nightmare Monica ThorneTV movie Wrapped Up in Christmas Heather Nash 2018 Hollywood Darlings Tatyana Episode: "Big White Lies" The Bobby Brown Story Sarah Flint Episode: "Part One" Christmas Everlasting Lucy TV movie Jingle Belle Belle Williams TV movie; also producer Olive Forever Alison Episode: "Pilot" 2018–2022 Fancy Nancy Mrs. James (voice) Recurring cast (season 1–2), guest (season 3)2019College Dating App Professor Savoy TV movie Christmas Hotel Erin TV movie; also producer 2020 Entertainment Tonight Herself/Guest Co-Host Episode: "Episode 40.58"2021 A Picture Perfect Holiday Gaby TV movie 2022 Wheel of Fortune Herself/Celebrity Contestant Episode: "Curtis Stone, Haley Joel Osment and Tatyana Ali" RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race Herself/Chakra 7 Contestant (season 2) Vanished: Searching for My Sister Jada/Kayla TV movie 2023 See It Loud: The History of Black Television Herself Episode: "Keeping It Real" Bel-Air Mrs. Hughes Recurring cast (season 2) Giving Hope: The Ni'Cola Mitchell Story Ni'cola MitchellTV movie The Holiday Proposal Plan Sonny Kravitz 2024 Perimeter Connie Dawn Main cast 2024–2025 Abbott Elementary Crystal Episodes: "Panel", "Smith Playground", "District Budget Meeting" 2024 After Midnight Herself Episode: June 3, 2024 2026 Dancing with the Stars Herself Contestant (season 35)
Discography Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions US USR&B UKUKR&B Kiss the Sky Released: August 25, 1998 Formats: CD, cassette Label: Work Group 106 47 41 6 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
Extended plays + List of extended plays, with selected chart positions Title Album details Hello Released: January 21, 2014 Formats: CD, digital download Label: Self-released All I Have Released: December 1, 2023 Formats: Streaming Label: Self-released
Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album US USR&B BEL FRA IRL NL NZ UKUKR&B "Daydreamin'": "Boy You Knock Me Out": "Everytime": "Daydreamin'" 1998 6 5 — — — — 3 6 3 RIAA: Gold RMNZ: Gold Kiss the Sky "Boy You Knock Me Out"(featuring Will Smith) — 68 56 32 19 77 12 3 1 RMNZ: Gold BPI: Silver "Everytime" 1999 — 73 — — — — — 20 4 "Wait for It" 2014 — — — — — — — — — Hello "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
Other appearances Title Year Other Artist(s) Album "Love The Way You Love Me" 1999rowspan=2 More! "Precious Wings" The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland "Who Am I" Will Smith and MC Lyte Willennium "Getting Closer" Kel Spencer Wild Wild West "Candy Girl" 2007 Kanary Diamonds Puro Fuego "Wanna Groove" 2009 Inverse So Far "Move It, Shake It" Just Matter and Nieve Love N' Dancing "Bathtub Gin" The Cherokee Rhythm Section "Joy to the World" 2013rowspan=4 Dear Secret Santa "Kiss the Sky" 2015 The Legacy of R&B Slow Jamz "He Loves Me" 2016 The Legacy of Nu Soul "Ghost Town" 2017 Music to Inspire
Awards and nominations
Caribbean Heritage Organization 2011: Recipient, Living Legacy Award
NAACP Image Awards