Nia Long

The name Nia Long may not be at the tip of everyone’s tongue, but everyone knows her face. She’s been in high profile television and movie roles for the past fifteen years, and by the looks of her career, it doesn’t look like she’ll be slowing down any time soon.

Born on October 30, 1970, in Brooklyn, New York, she was given the name of Nitara Carlynn Long, by her Afro-Trinidadian parents, Doc and Talita Long, because Nitara is one of the seven days of Kwanzaa, and means “purpose.” Her parents divorced when she was just 2, and she moved with her mother to Iowa City, Iowa, and later to lower-middle-class South Los Angeles. While Long attended Catholic school and took dance, guitar, and acting, her mother worked several different low-paying jobs, despite holding two master’s degrees. This drove Long to become successful in her own right, wanting to help her mother that spent her life working, in order to raise Long in the way she became accustomed to.

Long’s first acting coach was Todd Bridges’ mother, Betty, who worked with her for fifteen years. She started out with small roles in television shows like 227 (with TV veterans like Marla Gibbs, Jackee Harry and Hal Williams) and The B.R.A.T. Patrol, and also the film Buried Alive. Long’s acting instruction then paid off, as she landed a regular role on the daytime drama Guiding Light.  

While working on the soap, she found time for her first co-starring role in John Singleton’s Boyz in the Hood, starring alongside Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Ice Cube.

This led her to another film, Made in America, starring as the daughter of Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson, and the girlfriend of Will Smith. After working so well with Smith, Long found herself with a regular role on his show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, once again as his girlfriend. Ironically, she beat out Jada Pinkett Smith for the role, the woman who went on to become Smith’s real life wife. 

As her time on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ended, Long had guest starring roles on ER and Brandy’s Moesha, then returned to movies, filming Love Jones, Hav Plenty, and Soul Food, the latter alongside Vanessa Williams, Vivica A Fox, and Michael Beach. The movies continued to come Long’s way, as she filmed In Too Deep with Omar Epps and LL Cool J and the thriller Stigmata with Patricia Arquette and Gabriel Byrne.

After filming yet another thriller, Boiler Room, with Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, and Ben Affleck, Long made a bold move, filming If These Walls Could Talk 2, a trio of stories about lesbian couples. 

Putting the heavier roles to the side for awhile, Long starred in Big Momma’s House and Big Momma’s House 2 with Martin Lawrence, and Are We There Yet?, once again working with Ice Cube. After enjoying a recurring role on the television series Judging Amy with Amy Brenneman, Long moved on to a starring role in the last few seasons of the television series Third Watch, starring again with Michael Beach, as well as an ensemble cast that included Coby Bell and Molly Price.

Her days kept busy with her child, Massai Zhivago Dorsey II, it’s clear Long has a full career still ahead of her. Even if she never lands that role that makes her a household name, she’s still very successful in her own right.