Nia Long Biography & Career

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Nia Long Biography & Career

Nia Talita Long is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Third Watch and Empire, and the films Boyz n the Hood, Friday, Love Jones, Soul Food, In Too Deep, The Best Man, Big Momma's House and Are We There Yet?.

Early Life

Nia Talita Long was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 30, 1970. Her mother, Talita (née Gillman), was a teacher and printmaker, and her father, Doughtry Long, was a high school teacher as well as a poet. Long has an older half-sister, Sommore (born Lori Ann Rambough), who is also an actress in addition to being a comedian. When Long was two years old, her parents got divorced. She subsequently moved with her mother to Iowa City, Iowa, before moving to South Los Angeles. Her father lived in Trenton, New Jersey. She graduated from Westchester High School in Los Angeles in 1989, having also attended the Roman Catholic all-girls high school St. Mary's Academy in Inglewood, California.

Career

Long's first professional acting role was on the Disney Channel, in the television film "The B.R.A.T. Patrol" (1986) alongside actors like Sean Astin, Tim Thomerson, and Brian Keith. She followed this up with a three-year contracted role as the character Kathryn "Kat" Speakes on the long-running popular soap opera "Guiding Light" from 1991 to 1994. This was her first notable role that helped her gain more exposure. During her first year of being on "Guiding Light", Long landed the role of Brandi in the film "Boyz n the Hood" (1991). Following her departure from "Guiding Light", Long played Beulah "Lisa" Wilkes, the girlfriend (and later fiancé) of Will Smith's character on the television show "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" from 1994 to 1995.

Long went on to have several small roles on television, appearing in just one or two episodes of shows like "ER" (1996) and "Moesha" (1996), as well as several unsold TV pilots like "Live Shot" (1995) and "Black Jaq" (1998). Her role as Andrea Solomon on the show "Judging Amy" was one of the longer ones she enjoyed, appearing in 6 episodes between 2001 and 2002. Her next notable television role was as NYPD Officer Sasha Monroe on the show "Third Watch", which lasted from 2003 to 2005 (when the show ended). She followed this up with appearances on shows like "Everwood" (2005 – 2006), "Boston Legal" (2006 – 2007), and "Big Shots" (2007 – 2008). In 2016, Long was cast as the character Giuliana, a club owner in Las Vegas, on the television series "Empire". She appeared on "Empire" from 2016 to 2017 in a total of 8 episodes. Other shows she has appeared on include "The Cleveland Show" (2009 – 2010), "Chase" (2011), "House of Lies" (2012), "The Divide" (2014), "Real Husbands of Hollywood" (2015 – 2016), "Uncle Buck" (2016), "Dear White People" (2017), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (2017 – 2018), and "Blaze and the Monster Machines" (2019).

In addition to her television work, Long has also enjoyed a successful film career. After her appearance in "Boyz n the Hood" (1991), she went on to appear in films like "Made in America" (1993), "Friday" (1995), "Love Jones" (1997), "Hav Plenty" (1997), "Soul Food" (1997), "Butter" (1998), "The Best Man" (1999), "In Too Deep" (1999), "Stigmata" (1999), "Boiler Room" (2000), "Big Momma's House" (2000), "Alfie" (2004), "Are We There Yet?" (2005), "Big Momma's House 2" (2006), "Gospel Hill" (2008), "The Best Man Holiday" (2013), "Keanu" (2016), "Lemon" (2017), and "47 Meters Down: Uncaged" (2019), among others.

For her acting, Long has received many awards and nominations. For her starring role in "The Best Man", she received the award for Best Actress from the Black Reel Awards in 2000. She has won three Image Awards, twice for Outstanding Actress in a Television Drama (once in 2004 and again in 2005), and once for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (in 2000). Additionally, she has been nominated for the BET Comedy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Theatrical Film.

Personal Life

Long is a mother of two. She shares her first son, born in 2000, with Massai Dorsey. She had her second son, born in 2011, with former professional basketball player Ime Udoka. Long and Udoka began dating in 2010, and became engaged in May 2015.

Net Worth

Nia Long is an American dancer and actress who has a net worth of $6 million. She acquired her net worth by acting in many popular Hollywood movies like "Boyz n the Hood" and "Big Momma's House", and television shows such as "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Empire".