Tatyana Marisol Ali (born January 24, 1979) is an American actress and R&B singer, perhaps best known for her role as Ashley Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Ali was born in Long Island, New York, daughter of Sonia, a nurse, and Sheriff Ali, a police detective. Her mother is a native of Panama and her father is of Indian descent from Trinidad and Tobago. She has two younger sisters, Anastasia and Kimberly. She is fluent in both English and Spanish.

She attended Marymount High School in West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, and The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California. In 2002, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Harvard University.

By the age of seven, Ali had begun her singing career. She also appeared with Herbie Hancock on an episode of Sesame Street. By age five, she won the Star Search television contest two times. Her breakthrough came when she was cast as Ashley Banks for the popular television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She sang on various episodes of the show. On one of the shows Ali sings Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and the original song "Make Up Your Mind", Will Smith asked her if she seriously considered pursuing a musical career. Despite her singing ability, she concentrated on her acting career on Fresh Prince the next few years. Ali was said to be closest to her co-star Janet Hubert-Whitten.

In the penultimate season of Fresh Prince, Ali began preparing herself for her musical debut. The result was the album Kiss The Sky, which was certified gold in early 1999. The album spawned the hit song Daydreamin', produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, which peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the UK Singles Chart. The album spawned two further UK hits, "Boy You Knock Me Out", featuring Will Smith, which peaked at #3 and is her biggest hit to date there; and "Everytime", which was her third top 20 hit in the UK, peaking at #20. Also with Will Smith, she made an appearance in his album Willennium for the track "Who Am I" with MC Lyte.

As of 2005, she completed work on the film Glory Road and starred in the music video for Nick Cannon and Anthony Hamilton's "Can I Live?" as Cannon's mother.

In 2007, she appeared in the short films Wilted, How To Have A Girl, The Malibu Myth, and First Sight which were made during the reality show On the Lot. She appeared in 2 episodes of the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Roxanne.

She is currently preparing to release her second album, which she describes as "an independent effort".[6]

She ranked #74 on VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars.

Ali once dated American actor Jonathan Brandis, with whom she co-starred in the TV movie Fall into Darkness. Ali is a huge Boston Red Sox fan and was at the 04' Red Sox World Series game winner.

Filmography

Hotel California (2008) .... Jessie
Privileged (2007) .... Talia
Nora's Hair Salon II (2007) .... Lilliana
On the Lot .... Girl in 'first sight' (1 episode, 2007)
Glory Road (2006) .... Tina Malichi
The List (2006) .... Cynthia
Domino One (2005) .... Laeticia Richards
Back In the Day (2005)(V) .... Alicia Packer
Nora's Hair Salon (2004) .... Lilleana
National Lampoon's Dorm Daze (2003) .... Claire
Half & Half .... Olivia (1 episode, 2003)
Fastlane .... Shelly (1 episode, 2002)
The Brothers (2001) .... Cherie Smith
Brother (2000) .... Latifa
Jawbreaker .... Brenda Chad
The Clown at Midnight (1998) .... Monica
413 Hope St. .... Kai (1 episode, 1997)
Kiss the Girls (as Tatyana M. Ali) .... Janell Cross
Fakin' Da Funk .... Karyn
Fall into Darkness (1996) (TV) (as Tatyana M. Ali) .... Sharon McKay
Kidz in the Wood (1996) (TV) (as Tatyana M. Ali) .... Rita
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air .... Ashley Banks (129 episodes, 1990-1996)
Living Single .... Stephanie James (1 episode, 1996)
In the House .... Ashley Banks (1 episode, 1995)
TV's Funniest Families (1994) (TV)
Are You Afraid of the Dark? .... Connie / ... (1 episode, 1994)
Getting By .... Nicole Alexander (1 episode, 1993)
The Cosby Show .... Girl (1 episode, 1989)
A Man Called Hawk .... Michelle (1 episode, 1989)
Wow, You're a Cartoonist! (1988)(V) .... Child Cartoonist
Crocodile Dundee II (1988).... Park Girl
Eddie Murphy Raw (1987) .... Eddie's sister (sketch)

Discography

Albums

Kiss The Sky (1998)
The Light (TBA)

Singles

"Daydreamin'" - #5 U.S., #6 UK
"Boy You Knock Me Out" (featuring Will Smith) - #3 UK
"Everytime" - #20 UK
"Kiss The Sky" (featuring Marion) - #8 UK
"It's All Right"/"Somebody Loves You" - Pending release

http://en.wikipedia.org