Tatyana Marisol Ali (born January 24, 1979) is an American born actress and singer. Tatyana is half hispanic, her mother Sonia Ali being from Panama, and her father, Sheriff Ali, from the British West Indies. Tatyana herself is a native of Long Island, New York.
At the age of four, Tatyana began singing, and by seven she won the Star Search television contest two times.
Tatyana's breakthrough came when she was cast as Ashley Banks for the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She sang on various episodes, and Will Smith asked her if she considered a career as a singer seriously. Despite her singing ability, she concentrated on her acting career and her job as Ashley for the next few years, until there was only one more year left for the show, when she began preparing herself for her debut album of Daydreaming, which made it to Billboard's top 100 at number six.
Tatyana's acting credits also include:
- Sesame Street
- Fences (Broadway play)
- Orfeo Del Campo (also a broadway play)
- Eddie Murphys Raw
- Crocodile Dundee II
- The Cosby Show (guest appearances)
- The Mickey Mouse Club (guest appearances)
- Kinos Daytrip
- Are You Afraid of the Dark
- Mr. Fosters Field Trip (television movie)
- Fall Into Darkness
- Faking the Funk
- In the House
- Kiss the Girls
