Biography: Sanaa Lathan

Sanaa McCoy Lathan (born September 19, 1971) is a Tony Award-nominated American actress. She has starred in box office hits such as: Love & Basketball, Alien vs. Predator, Something New, and The Family That Preys.

Biography

Lathan was born in New York City and attended Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics. Her first name means "work of art" in Swahili. ^{Her mother, Eleanor McCoy, was an actress and dancer who performed on Broadway with the likes of Eartha Kitt. Her father, Stan Lathan, worked behind the scenes in television for PBS, as well as a producer on shows such as Sanford & Son and Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam. Her parents divorced when she was young, however she kept in close relationships with both of her parents moving between both Los Angeles and New York. Her brother is Tendaji Lathan(now a DJ). Being exposed to the life of entertainment and stars at a very early age had a profound impact upon her life. As a child, she was very athletic and was into the arts through training in gymnastics and dance[citation needed]. She is currently dating Randy Bynes.}

She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in English.^{. Lathan contemplated a career in law, but then was accepted into the Yale School of Drama.}

Career

Following her training at Yale, where she performed in a number of Shakespeare's plays, Lathan earned acclaim both off-Broadway and on the Los Angeles stage. Encouraged by her father to make Los Angeles her professional base, the young actress found early television roles on episodes of such shows as In the House, Family Matters, NYPD Blue, and Moesha. During that same period, she won raves and a Best Actress nod from the Los Angeles NAACP Theatrical Award Committee for her performance in To Take Arms.

In 1998, Lathan earned a degree of recognition with her role as the mother of Wesley Snipes' title character in Blade. She followed this the subsequent year with a role in Life with Martin Lawerence and Eddie Murphy and back-to-back turns in The Best Man and The Wood. The Best Man was a comedic ensemble film, starring Taye Diggs, Nia Long and Morris Chestnut. The Wood, another ensemble film starring Diggs and Omar Epps, cast her as the love interest of Epps, who at the time was also her real-life boyfriend. Lathan and Epps were reunited onscreen in Prince-Bythewood's Love & Basketball (film), this time playing a couple as passionate about basketball as they are about each other.

The film served as a break-out role for Lathan, who played a leading character instead of the girlfriend of one. Her work in Love & Basketball (film) earned her "Best Actress" nominations for both the NAACP Image Award and the Independent Spirit Award. That same year, Lathan earned additional acclaim for her work in the multicultural comedy Catfish in Black Bean Sauce and for her second collaboration with Prince-Bythewood, Disappearing Acts. Based on a novel by Terry McMillan, the HBO movie cast Lathan as an aspiring singer/songwriter in love with a carpenter, played by her Blade co-star Wesley Snipes. For her work in the film, Lathan earned an Essence Award for Best Actress, as well as the added assurance of a very busy work schedule. That year, she was named by Ebony magazine as one of its 55 Most Beautiful People and was honoured by Essence magazine and Black Entertainment Television.

Lathan subsequently starred in several major Hollywood films, including Alien Vs. Predator which was Lathan's biggest role to date. Alien Vs. Predator was a major success grossing over $171 million dollars worldwide. Out of Time was also an important role for Lathan as she played the plot-twist antagonist, sharing the screen with protagonist Denzel Washington.

In 2006, Lathan co-starred with Simon Baker in Something New, a romantic comedy about an interracial relationship. Lathan appeared in a recurring role as Michelle Landau in another interracial relationship as the much younger wife of a Texas businessman (Larry Hagman) during the fourth season of the television series, Nip/Tuck.

Lathan played Andrea in Tyler Perry's film The Family That Preys, which also featured Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates and was released in the U.S. on September 12, 2008.

Personal

She is good friends with actresses Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall, Essence Atkins, and Nia Long.^{. She has dated actor Omar Epps and is dating Adewale Ogunleye of the Chicago Bears.}

Filmography

Awards and nominations

• BET Award

• 2001, Best Actress: (Winner)

• Black Movie Awards

• 2006, Best Actress: Something New (Nominated)

• Black Reel Award

• 2006, Best Actress: Something New (Nominated)
• 2004, Best Actress: Out of Time (Winner)
• 2003, Best Actress: Brown Sugar (Nominated)
• 2001, Best Actress: Love & Basketball (Winner)
• 2001, Best Actress in a TV Movie/Mini-Series: Disappearing Acts (Nominated)

• Image Awards

• 2007, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Something New (Nominated)
• 2007, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Nip/Tuck (Nominated)
• 2004, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Out of Time (Nominated)
• 2003, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Brown Sugar (Nominated)
• 2001, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Love & Basketball (Winner)
• 2000, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: The Best Man (Nominated)

• Independent Spirit Awards

• 2001, Best Female Lead: Love & Basketball (Nominated)

• Theatre World Award

• 2004 A Raisin in the Sun (Winner)

• Tony Award

• 2003, Best Featured Actress in a Play: A Raisin in the Sun (Nominated)

References

1. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005125/bio
2. http://www.filmreference.com/film/65/Sanaa-Lathan.html
3. http://www.jewelmagonline.com/article.aspx?id=1029
4. http://www.livesteez.com/news/news_detail/905
5. http://www.jewelmagonline.com/article.aspx?id=1029
6. http://www.jewelmagonline.com/article.aspx?id=1029