Nia Long

Birthday: 30 October 1970, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Birth Name: Nitara Carlynn Long

Height: 157 cm

Stunning pop culture icon, Hollywood leading lady and three-time NAACP award winner Nia Long returns to the big screen this fall in the highly anticipated Universal Pictures sequel The best man holiday (in theaters November 15th) where she reunites with original castmates Taye Diggs ("Private Practice"), Terrence Howard (Hustle & flow), Morris Chestnut (The brothers) and Harold Perrineau ("Lost"). Additionally in Spring 2014, Long will star in Tyler Perry's Single mom's club alongside Wendi McLendon- Covey (Bridesmaids), Tyler Perry (Madea) and Amy Smart (Crank).Early this year, Long joined the all-star cast of Showtime's "House of Lies" alongside Golden Globe Award winner Don Cheadle & Kristen Bell as "Tamara," a business school classmate and former flame of Marty's (Don Cheadle) who has been hired by the same consulting firm Galweather Stearn after taking time off to raise a family.Long made her film debut in the poignant film portraying the social problems in inner-city Los Angeles, Boyz n the hood , and continued on to star in FRIDAY alongside Ice Cube and Chris Tucker as well as LOVE JONES which won the prestigious Audience Award at Sundance. Other notable film roles include Soul Food, Alfie opposite Jude Law, The Best man, Are We There Yet?, Big Momma's House 1 & 2 opposite Martin Lawrence, Stigmata, the Broken Hearts Club and Made in America.On the small screen, Long's portrayal of "Officer Sasha Monroe" on NBC's hit crime drama "Third Watch" awarded her two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Drama series. Long's other TV accomplishments include "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Boston Legal," "Judging Amy," and "Big Shots." Long also voiced "Roberta" in the first season of the Fox hit "the Cleveland Show."Making her directorial debut on Ashanti's music video "Baby" and Yolanda Adam's "This Too Shall Pass," Nia continues her work behind the camera and is developing a feature film that centers on renowned world champion boxer and trainer Ann Wolfe.In addition to her film and TV work, Long's passion lies in serving her community. With her family roots planted in Trinidad, Grenada, and Barbados, Long's long term goals are to connect women in the US to those of the islands and to mentor young girls to regain their self-esteem. Additionally, Long lends her support to Black Girls Rock, an organization that promotes the arts for young women of color and encourages dialogue on the ways women of color are portrayed in the media. In 2012 she was named an official surrogate to the Barack Obama reelection campaign.A Brooklyn native, Long now calls Los Angeles home where she lives with her 12 year old son, Massai, 14 month old son, Kez and partner Ime Udoka, an Assistant Coach for the San Antonio Spurs. Long loves to cook organic farmer's market fresh meals adding a twist of her Trinidadian heritage. When she's not juggling between her career and motherhood, she enjoys staying active by doing pilates, boxing, hiking, and horseback riding. Long also finds pleasure in traveling and experiencing different cultures throughout the world. One of her favorite locations to visit is Jamaica, a place she calls her second home where she can reflect and refuel. Show less «

I took a little break - I was coming back to work and the last thing I was going to do was take a st...Show more »

I took a little break - I was coming back to work and the last thing I was going to do was take a step backwards, so I knew that if I was going to take a feature it was going to have to be taking a step forward. Show less «

I'm not going to live my life unhappy and why should he and we talk about it and I think what's grea...Show more »

I'm not going to live my life unhappy and why should he and we talk about it and I think what's great about the film is that it shows is the meaning of family doesn't have to be as traditional as it once was, like you can make a family. Show less «

I was happy she got it and I have to sort of - and one of the reasons I did Third Watch is because I...Show more »

I was happy she got it and I have to sort of - and one of the reasons I did Third Watch is because I wanted to break that thing of just being the pretty girl and play it down and let it be about the work. Show less «

I said 'Brian, no one is going to respect me as a mother after this.' He said, 'oh no, yes they will...Show more »

I said 'Brian, no one is going to respect me as a mother after this.' He said, 'oh no, yes they will, this is a movie, don't worry about it.' But they're not. Show less «

It's my motor, it's the thing that keeps me going and so when I have these auditions for these big m...Show more »

It's my motor, it's the thing that keeps me going and so when I have these auditions for these big movies, I can depend on myself because I've been working consistently. Show less «

I have a four year old and I'm telling you we did Nickelodeon last night and he embarrassed me. It w...Show more »

I have a four year old and I'm telling you we did Nickelodeon last night and he embarrassed me. It was like one of those moments when I couldn't believe my kid is acting like this. I just had to just like walk away from him because he was really pushing my buttons. Show less «

I know where I'm going to be, I'm not traveling here and there and everywhere. That didn't necessari...Show more »

I know where I'm going to be, I'm not traveling here and there and everywhere. That didn't necessarily prompt me to it but it definitely opened up my mind of saying okay, maybe this is a good time to do this. Show less «

We haven't even gotten a start date but we'll see what happens with that and that will be fun. I've ...Show more »

We haven't even gotten a start date but we'll see what happens with that and that will be fun. I've gotten a couple of other things but I'm not really committing myself to anything yet. Show less «

It's like going to the gym everyday. It really is. I work hard on my craft, I sweat a little bit, I ...Show more »

It's like going to the gym everyday. It really is. I work hard on my craft, I sweat a little bit, I run a little bit, I might sprain an ankle every now and them, but it's all good and the more you do it, the more in shape you are and it's like a machine. Show less «

We're all in the service business. If you hire me to do a job I expect everybody else to be where I ...Show more »

We're all in the service business. If you hire me to do a job I expect everybody else to be where I am. A little bit of crazy is good. It keeps things - balanced. Show less «

You need the words, you need the script, you need the material, you need the commitment, you need th...Show more »

You need the words, you need the script, you need the material, you need the commitment, you need the passion, it's like we depend on writers, we depend on producers, directors depend on us and once things are in the divine order as they happen. Show less «

He just was being four. He just was being a child. He wasn't interested in what my agenda was. He wa...Show more »

He just was being four. He just was being a child. He wasn't interested in what my agenda was. He wanted to do what he wanted to do and it started because he saw the lights on in Toys R Us. Show less «

I think you grow through your experiences; you get better as you grow and I'm not nearly where I thi...Show more »

I think you grow through your experiences; you get better as you grow and I'm not nearly where I think I'm going to be eventually where I inspire to be and hopefully the opportunities will continue to come. Show less «

I've seen some great write ups and I emailed her the other night because I saw her on an awards show...Show more »

I've seen some great write ups and I emailed her the other night because I saw her on an awards show recently. Show less «

Well, the studios don't really want to take those risks right off the bat. They'll take the risk aft...Show more »

Well, the studios don't really want to take those risks right off the bat. They'll take the risk after they've seen the finished product and say oh yeah we want that. This is a great film but they are hesitant to take the risk when you just see it on paper. Show less «

It took a long time to get that film made. I went in for it almost right after or like maybe six or ...Show more »

It took a long time to get that film made. I went in for it almost right after or like maybe six or seven months after I had my son and actually auditioned for the Regina King part and they just were like, 'No, you're just - you just don't really seem the part.' Show less «

First of all when you're a mommy like you like the consistency of being on a show like that's just p...Show more »

First of all when you're a mommy like you like the consistency of being on a show like that's just peace of mind, I know I have financial, you know stability. Show less «

But that we didn't have the level of experience in terms of working in the industry so you weren't s...Show more »

But that we didn't have the level of experience in terms of working in the industry so you weren't sure and you needed to see it and this is an industry that the more you work the better you get and that the more opportunities you have the better you get. Show less «

I think for me to find that project is going to be something that I'm going to have to develop for m...Show more »

I think for me to find that project is going to be something that I'm going to have to develop for myself. Show less «

In terms of Cube I think he's very conscious of the technical aspect of the business whereas when yo...Show more »

In terms of Cube I think he's very conscious of the technical aspect of the business whereas when you're just hired as an actor, you're not really secure in that part of your work and you're not really paying attention to where the camera. Show less «

I think Nina Simone has had an amazing journey. She was spicy and she had attitude and she didn't ca...Show more »

I think Nina Simone has had an amazing journey. She was spicy and she had attitude and she didn't care, she wanted her money in a paper bag and don't mess with me and I've been doing some research on that so. Show less «

I don't think you should reprimand your child for everything you're feeling because for them it's as...Show more »

I don't think you should reprimand your child for everything you're feeling because for them it's as serious as when something happens in our day and we get upset about it. Show less «

I have a beautiful son, I don't regret it, I'm very proud of the way that we handle our relationship...Show more »

I have a beautiful son, I don't regret it, I'm very proud of the way that we handle our relationship and the way that we keep our son first and that's our priority. Show less «

I think there are a lot of other actors that are just talented, it's just about this opportunity - i...Show more »

I think there are a lot of other actors that are just talented, it's just about this opportunity - it's just about when are we going to be put in those positions where we can shine. Show less «

They have the big ferris wheel and we've been out of town for two months, so he just was like, 'Momm...Show more »

They have the big ferris wheel and we've been out of town for two months, so he just was like, 'Mommy I want to go to Toys R Us and I don't care if you have a movie coming out and all that.' He was just being a kid. But I had to allow him to have that moment. Show less «

I know for me like I have a reputation of being kind of tough, I have a reputation of also being the...Show more »

I know for me like I have a reputation of being kind of tough, I have a reputation of also being the girl next door, kind of sweet but I have standards and my thing is, it's me on that screen and I don't have control over everything in this and I'm grateful and thankful. Show less «

Nia Long

Nia Long's FILMOGRAPHY

Nia Long'S roles

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