Ali was born in North Bellmore, New York on January 24, 1979, the eldest daughter of Sheriff and Sonia Ali. She is of Dougla descent.
Career
In 1985, 6-year-old Ali began her acting career as a regular performer on the children's PBS educational program Sesame Street, appearing with jazz great Herbie Hancock in a musical number during her tenure. She also appeared in two episodes of Star Search, one of which featured her performance of a cover of the Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." She made her breakthrough in 1990 when she was cast as Ashley Banks on the television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a role she played throughout the series' entire run, from 1990 to 1996. Ali's vocal talent was featured on several episodes of Fresh Prince in later seasons, prompting the show's star Will Smith to ask her if she would seriously consider pursuing a musical career. She ultimately decided, for the time being, to continue to concentrate on her acting career. In the series' final season, however, Ali performed several songs, and she began to be groomed for her musical debut, the culmination of which was her debut album Kiss The Sky in 1998. It was certified gold in early 1999, mere months after its release, and spawned the Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins-produced hit single "Daydreamin'," released July 21, 1998, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also appeared on the UK Singles Chart. The album spawned two further UK hits, "Boy You Knock Me Out" featuring Will Smith—which peaked at No. 3 and is her biggest hit to date—and "Everytime," which was her third top-20 hit in the UK, peaking at No. 20. She made an appearance on Smith's album Willenniumon the track "Who Am I" with MC Lyte. She performed the title song "Sunny Valentine" along with Terrence Quaites for the indie film Rockin' Meera in 2005. In early 2008, she performed on the song "Yes We Can," a will.i.am project supporting Barack Obama's presidential campaign. She also appeared in the subsequent music video which garnered coverage on the "What the Buzz" segment of ABC's World News Now. In January 2014, Ali released an EP titled Hello, whose first single was "Wait For It," which she performed on The Arsenio Hall Show on February 4, 2014. Apart from her musical career, Ali continued to land roles in films such as The Brothers, Glory Road, and Nora's Hair Salon, among others. From 2009 to 2010 she produced and starred in the BET web series Buppies. She was on recurring status on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Roxanne from 2007 to 2013. Ali starred in the TV One original series Love That Girl! as Tyana. In 2013, she co-starred as Maya in the BET comedy Second Generation Wayans, alongside Craig Wayans and Damien Dante Wayans. In 2011, Ali received the Living Legacy Award from the Caribbean Heritage Organization in Los Angeles. In July 2016, Ali sued Warner Bros claiming that the company stole her idea for the show The Real after she pitched the concept in December 2012. The case was dismissed in February 2017.
