The Harvard Graduate Who Starred in a Hit Sitcom

 

Who is Tatyana Ali?

American actress and singer Tatyana Marisol Ali was born in North Bellmore, New York State USA, on 24 January 1979, making Aquarius her zodiac sign. She’s appeared in nearly 100 TV series and movies, but is probably still known best for playing Ashley Banks in the evergreen sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, which starred Alfonso Ribeiro, James Avery and Will Smith, and was created by Susan and Andy Borowitz. It follows a poor young adult who’s been sent to live with his wealthy cousins, the series aired from 1990 through 1996, and won 15 of its 43 award nominations.

Education and early life

Tatyana was raised alongside her sisters Kimberly and Anastasia in North Bellmore, by their Afro-Panamanian mother Sonia Ali and Indo-Trinidadian father Sheriff Ali; her father was a police officer, while her mother was a registered nurse.

Tatyana fell in love with acting at the age of five, when she began watching TV series on a daily basis with her sisters, and was nine when she made her debut film appearance, playing Park Girl in the 1988 action adventure comedy movie “Crocodile Dundee II”; in the following year, Tatyana played Michelle in the episode “Life After Death” of the action “A Man Called Hawk”.

She then continued acting while being simultaneously focused on her education. Tatyana studied at Marymount High School in Los Angeles, California, and upon matriculating in 1997 enrolled at Harvard University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 2002.

Roles in TV series

In 1989, Tatyana played Girl in the episode “Shall We Dance?” of the critically acclaimed romantic family comedy “The Cosby Show”, and the following years saw her appear in an episode or two of the family comedy “Getting By”, the fantasy horror “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” and the comedy “In the House”.

From 1984 through 1997, she played various characters in 12 episodes of the popular adventure comedy “Sesame Street”, which today stars Caroll Spinney, Frank Oz and Jim Henson, and was created back in 1969 by Lloyd Morrisett Jr. and Joan Ganz Cooney. The series follows a group of children and muppets, and has won 247 of its 583 award nominations.

In 2002, Tatyana played Shelly in the episode “Girls Own Juice” of the action crime comedy “Fastlane”, and the following year saw her play Olivia in the “The Big Condom-Nation Episode” of the comedy “Half & Half”. Her following role came in 2009, when cast to star as Quinci in the comedy “Buppies”, created by Julian Breece, and which also starred Robin Thede and Preston Davis; it follows the lives of several black actors and actresses, and the series won one of its six award nominations.

Tatyana portrayed Maya in 10 episodes of the 2013 comedy “Second Generation Wayans”, and from 2007 through 2013 played Roxanne in 53 episodes of the long-running soap opera “The Young and the Restless”.

Most recently, from 2018 through 2022, she voiced Mrs James in the animated adventure comedy “Fancy Nancy”, created by Krista Tucker and Jamie Mitchell, and which starred Mia Sinclair Jenness, Dana Heath and Alyson Hannigan. It follows the life of a young girl who likes to wear colorful clothes, and the series was nominated for six awards.

Roles in movies

In 1995, Tatyana portrayed Rita in the family comedy “Kidz in the Wood”, and some of her following film roles were in the 1996 thriller “Fall Into Darkness”, the crime mystery “Kiss the Girls” and thecomedy “Fakin’ Da Funk” both in 1997.

The year 1998 saw her play Monica in the horror mystery thriller “The Clown at Midnight”, directed by Jean Pellerin, and which starred Christopher Plummer and Margot Kidder; it follows seven teenagers who are being chased by a serial killer. Tatyana’s following notable performance was playing Cherie Smith in the popular 2001 romantic comedy “The Brothers”, written and directed by Gary Hardwick, and which starred Morris Chestnut, Shemar Moore and D. L. Hughley; it tells the story of four best friends as they’re maturing, and the film won one of its nine award nominations. Some of Tatyana’s notable performances in the remainder of the decade were in the 2007 romantic comedy “The List”, the 2008 comedy “Nora’s Hair Salon II” and the 2009 romantic drama “Mother and Child”.

She starred as Victoria in the 2014 comedy “The Divorce”, written and directed by Donald Welch, and which also starred Jonelle Allen; it follows the wealthy anchorwoman Yolanda Massey’s celebration of her recently finalized divorce.

Tatyana’s three most recent movie roles have been in the 2022 thriller “Vanished: Searching for My Sister”, the 2022 drama “It Snows All the Time” and the 2023 biographical drama “Giving Hope: The Ni’cola Mitchell Story”; she’s currently shooting for the upcoming film “Christmas Kennel”.

Other credits

Tatyana has seven producing credits, which include the 2008 comedy movie “Nora’s Hair Salon II”, the 2012 short film “October 31”, and the 2018 romantic musical movie “Jingle Belle”.

She received special thanks for both the 2020 short animated movie “Canvas” and the 2023 mystery thriller film “Missing”.

Tatyana’s made a guest appearance in close to 100 talk-shows, most recently in “RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race”, “Entertainment Tonight” and “Tamron Hall”.

Awards and nominations

Tatyana’s won seven of her 18 award nominations. She won a 1991 Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress Starring in a New Television Series and a 1997 YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy TV Series, both for her performance in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, and four NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series from 2011 through 2014, all for “The Young and the Restless”.

Love life and relationships

Tatyana avoids speaking about her love life in public, but has still shared the details of two men whom she’s been with. She began dating the late American actor Jonathan Gregory Brandis in 1995, but they split three years later; Jonathan committed suicide by hanging on 11 November 2003.

Tatyana revealed in March 2016 that she and Dr. Vaughn Rasberry had become engaged; he’s today an assistant professor of English language at Stanford University, and the two met on the dating website eHarmony. Tatyana and Vaughn exchanged vows on 17 July 2016, and she gave birth to their first son Edward Aszard Rasberry on 16 September 2016, while their second son Alejandro Vaughn Rasberry followed on 15 August 2019.

The family of four’s today splitting their time between Los Angeles and Stanford.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Tatyana enjoys being active on Instagram; close to 900,000 people are following her on the network today, and she’s posted more than 1,300 pictures, with many of these showing her spending time with her friends.

One of her closest friends is famous American actor, screenwriter and producer Will Smith.

Tatyana’s fluent in Spanish, and can also speak some Hindi.

She loves to read books in her spare time, and her favorite is “The Celestine Prophecy” by James Redfield.

Tatyana wanted to pursue music in the ‘90s, and her debut album “Kiss the Sky” came out in 1998, however, she then chose to focus on acting.

Her favorite actors are the late Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy, while some of Tatyana’s favorite movies include “The Harder They Fall”, “The Left Hand of God” and “The Caine Mutiny”.

Her sister Anastasia N. Ali appeared in two episodes of the series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”.

Tatyana’s been featured in “King’s Magazine” twice.

Height, eyes and wealth

Tatyana’s age is 44. She has black hair and brown eyes, is 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall and weighs around 135lbs (61kgs).

Tatyana’s net worth’s been estimated at over $4 million, as of April 2023.