Nia Long

Nia Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress and occasional music video director. She is best known for her roles in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Third Watch, and the films Soul Food, Love Jones, The Best Man, Big Momma's House, and Are We There Yet? Long was born in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. Her family is of Afro-Trinidadian descent. Her name, Nia, is one of the seven days of Kwanzaa, which means purpose in Swahili. Long's parents divorced when she was two years old, and she and her mother moved to Iowa City, Iowa. They subsequently moved to a South Los Angeles neighborhood when Long was seven. Long's father currently resides in Trenton, New Jersey. Long's half-sister is comedienne Sommore, one of the stars of The Queens of Comedy. She attended the Roman Catholic school St. Mary's Academy and studied ballet, tap, jazz, gymnastics, guitar, and acting. She graduated from WestchesterHigh School in 1989. Long's acting coach was Betty Bridges, better known as the mother of Diff'rent Strokes star Todd Bridges. Her earliest role was in the Disney television movie, The B.R.A.T Patrol alongside Sean Astin, Tim Thomerson and Brian Keith. Her first notable role on television was a three-year contract role as Kathryn "Kat" Speakes on the soap opera Guiding Light. Long portrayed Kat from 1991 to 1994, then f rom 1994 - 1995, she played Will Smith's girlfriend and fiancée Beulah "Lisa" Wilkes on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. In 2003, she joined the cast of the drama Third Watch, where she played NYPD Officer Sasha Monroe, continuing until the series finale in 2005. In 2005 and 2006, Long appeared on Everwood, and appeared on Boston Legal during its 2006-2007 season. Long also starred in Big Shots from 2007-2008 alongside Michael Vartan and Dylan McDermott. She also made a guest appearance on the successful sitcom Living Single during its first season. Long appeared in supporting roles in a number of movies including, Boyz n the Hood, Friday, and Made in America. She played a leading role, or a member of the primary ensemble, in several films, including Soul Food, Love Jones, Boiler Room, Big Momma's House, Are We There Yet?, and The Best Man. Ice Cube has starred with her in four films, while (fellow Westchester High alum) Regina King has starred with her in two. Long was voted one of the 50 most beautiful people in the World in 2000 by People. She won a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 2004 for her performance on Third Watch. In addition to her film credits, she directed Yolanda Adams's music video for "This Too Shall Pass" and co-directed and appeared in Ashanti's music video, "Baby". She also appears in the video for Kanye West's, "Touch The Sky". Long and her former long-time boyfriend and fellow actor Massai Z. Dorsey have a son, Massai Zhivago Dorsey II, born on November 26, 2000.

Known For: Acting

Born: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, 1970-10-30

Died: null

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1986	The B.R.A.T. Patrol	Darla Perkins	56
2	1989	Buried Alive	Fingers	41
3	1991	Boyz n the Hood	Brandi	76
4	1993	Made in America	Zora Mathews	55
5	1995	Friday	Debbie	71
6	1997	Love Jones	Nina Mosley	75
7	1997	Hav Plenty	Trudy	55
8	1997	Soul Food	Robin (Bird)	62
9	1998	Butter	Carmen Jones	25
10	1999	In Too Deep	Myra	63
11	1999	Stigmata	Donna Chadway	63
12	1999	Held Up	Rae	55
13	1999	The Best Man	Jordan Armstrong	66
14	1999	The Secret Laughter of Women	Nimi Da Silva	47
15	2000	The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy	Leslie	63
16	2000	Boiler Room	Abbie Halpert	67
17	2000	If These Walls Could Talk 2	Karen	65
18	2000	Big Momma's House	Sherry Pierce	58
19	2002	Sightings: Heartland Ghost	Lou	46
20	2003	Friendly Fire: Making of an Urban Legend	Self	45
21	2004	Baadasssss!	Sandra	65
22	2004	Alfie	Lonette	58
23	2005	Are We There Yet?	Suzanne Kingston	57
24	2006	Big Momma's House 2	Sherri	58
25	2007	Premonition	Annie	63
26	2007	Are We Done Yet?	Suzanne Persons	58
27	2008	Gospel Hill	Mrs. Palmer	49
28	2009	‘Friday’ Straight Up	Self	80
29	2009	Good Hair	Self	66
30	2011	Mooz-lum	Safiyah	46
31	2011	The Enduring Significance of 'Boyz n the Hood'	Self	20
32	2013	The Best Man Holiday	Jordan Armstrong	65
33	2014	The Single Moms Club	May Miller	60
34	2016	Keanu	Hannah	61
35	2017	Beaches	Hillary Whitney	61
36	2017	Roxanne Roxanne	Ms. Peggy	60
37	2017	Lemon	Cleo	45
38	2019	47 Meters Down: Uncaged	Jennifer	57
39	2020	The Banker	Eunice Garrett	76
40	2020	Fatal Affair	Ellie Warren	56
41	2020	Life in a Year	Catherine	82
42	2022	Look Both Ways	Lucy Galloway	69
43	2023	Missing	Grace	74
44	2023	You People	Fatima	56
45		Michael	Katherine Jackson	0
46		Last Friday	Debbie	0

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1954	The Wonderful World of Disney	Darla Perkins	78
2	1990	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Lisa Wilkes	79
3	1993	Living Single		84
4	1993	Late Night with Conan O'Brien	Self - Guest	72
5	1994	ER	Christy Wilson	78
6	1995	Live Shot	Ramona Greer	0
7	1996	Moesha		69
8	1996	The Daily Show	Self	64
9	1999	Judging Amy	Andrea Solomon	75
10	1999	Third Watch	Sasha Monroe	79
11	2000	106 & Park		57
12	2002	Everwood	Cassie	75
13	2004	America Beyond the Color Line	Self	60
14	2004	The Tony Danza Show	Self	61
15	2004	Boston Legal	Vanessa Walker	79
16	2007	Big Shots	Katie Graham	70
17	2008	The Wendy Williams Show		60
18	2009	Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen	Self - Guest	51
19	2009	NCIS: Los Angeles	Shay Mosley	75
20	2009	The Cleveland Show	Roberta Tubbs (voice)	59
21	2009	Celebrity Ghost Stories	Self	73
22	2012	House of Lies	Tamara	66
23	2014	The Divide	Billie Page	65
24	2016	Uncle Buck	Cindy Russell	58
25	2017	Dear White People	Neika Hobbs	61
26	2019	The Kelly Clarkson Show		65
27	2020	#blackAF	Lavette	67
28	2022	The Best Man: The Final Chapters	Jordan Armstrong	83
29	2025	Number One on the Call Sheet	Self	90

Nia Long

Film

Television