Sanaa may refer to:

• Sana'a, the capital of Yemen
  • San‘a’ Governorate, a governerate in Yemen
• Sana'a International Airport
• Sana'a manuscripts
• Sana’a (patrol vessel), a Yemeni patrol vessel
• Sana'a University. a Yemeni university
• SANAA, a Japanese architecture firm
• SANAA, the national utility for water supply and sanitation in Honduras

SANAA The South African National Archery Association

People with the name[link]

• Sanaa Benhama, Moroccan athlete
• Sanaa Hamri, Moroccan music and film director
• Sanaa Lathan, American actress

See also[link]

• Sana (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Ryue Nishizawa (西沢 立衛, Nishizawa Ryūe^?, born 1966, Kanagawa Prefecture) is a Japanese architect based in Tokyo. He is a graduate of Yokohama National University, and is director of his own firm, Office of Ryue Nishizawa, established in 1997. In 1995, he co-founded the firm SANAA (Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates) with the architect Kazuyo Sejima. In 2010, he was awarded the Pritzker Prize, together with Sejima.^[1]

Projects[link]

• Weekend House - 1997 to 1998 - Gunma, Japan
• Takeo Head Office Store - 1999 to 2000 - Tokyo, Japan
• House at Kamakura - 1999 to 2001 - Kanagawa, Japan
• Apartment Building at Ichikawa - 2001 to Present - Chiba, Japan
• Eda Apartment Building - 2002 to Present - Kanagawa, Japan
• Funabashi Apartment Building - 2002 to 2004 - Chiba, Japan
• Moriyama House - 2002 to Present - Tokyo, Japan
• Love Planet Museum - 2003 - Okayama, Japan
• Video Pavilion - 2003 to Present - Kagawa, Japan
• House in China - 2003 to Present - Tianjin, China
• Office Building, Benesse Art Site Naoshima - 2004 - Kagawa, Japan
• A House - 2004 to Present - Tokyo, Japan
• Naoshima Museum - 2005 to Present - Kagawa, Japan
• Towada Museum - 2005 to Present - Aomori, Japan

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: SANAA

• Gallery MA (2003). Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA Works 1995–2003. Toto Shuppan. ISBN 978-4-88706-224-5
• GA (2005). Sejima Kazuyo + Nishizawa Ryue Dokuhon. A.D.A. Edita. ISBN 4-87140-662-8
• GA (2005). GA ARCHITECT 18 Sejima Kazuyo + Nishizawa Ryue. A.D.A. Edita. ISBN 4-87140-426-9
• Yuko Hasegawa (2006). Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa: SANAA. Phaidon Press. ISBN 978-1-904313-40-3
• Agustin Perez Rubio (2007). SANAA Houses: Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa. Actar. ISBN 978-84-96540-70-5
• Joseph Grima and Karen Wong (Eds) (2008) Shift: SANAA and the New Museum. Lars Müller Publishers. ISBN 978-3-03778-140-1
• Thomas Daniell (2008). After the Crash: Architecture in Post-Bubble Japan. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1-56898-776-7

Notes[link]

External links[link]

	Japan portal
	Biography portal

• Ryue Nishizawa lectures on Theory and Practice
• Office of Ryue Nishizawa official website (Japanese)
• SANAA official website (Japanese)
• SANAA: Works 1998-2008 New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York Video at VernissageTV.

Kazuyo Sejima
Born	1956 (age 55–56) Ibaraki prefecture, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Awards	Schelling Architekturpreis 2000 Rolf Schock Prize 2005 Pritzker Prize 2010
Work
Practice	Kazuyo Sejima and Associates (1987–1995) SANAA (since 1995)

Kazuyo Sejima (妹島 和世, Sejima Kazuyo^?, born 1956, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese architect. After studying at Japan Women's University and working in the office of Toyo Ito, in 1987 she founded Kazuyo Sejima and Associates. In 1995 she founded the Tokyo-based firm SANAA (Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates) together with her former employee Ryue Nishizawa. Sejima was appointed Director of the Architecture Sector for the Venice Biennale, which she curated for the 12th Annual International Architecture Exhibition, held in 2010. She was the first woman ever selected for this position. In 2010 she was awarded the Pritzker Prize, together with Ryue Nishizawa.^[1]

Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa have worked on several projects in Germany, France, England, the Netherlands, United States, and Spain. Many of their designs like the New Museum in the Bowery District in New York City as well as their Glass Pavilion for the Toledo Museum of Art involve glass and allowing a space to be open to the world around it. This design element can be found greatly in most of their designs.

Sejima creates most of her designs with very clean modernist elements. They usually include many slick, clean, and shiny surfaces like glass, marble, and metals. She also likes to use squares and cubes within her designs, and these can be found in most of her designs in various different usages. Large windows allow for much natural light to enter a space, and makes her spaces very involved with the worlds that are on the other side of the glass. It's this dual connection of two spaces, that she draws most of her design inspirations.

Projects by Kazuyo Sejima and Associates[link]

Police Office in Chofu Station (1993–94)

• Platform I Vacation House – 1987 to 1988 – Chiba, Japan
• Platform II Studio – 1988 to 1990 – Yamanachi, Japan
• Platform III House (Not Built/Project Only) – 1989 to 1990 – Tokyo, Japan
• Castelbajac Sports Store – 1990 to 1991 – Kanagawa, Japan
• Saishunkan Seiyaku Women's Dormitory – 1990 to 1991 – Kumamoto, Japan
• N House – 1990 to 1992 – Kumamoto, Japan
• An Apartment Building (Not Built/Project Only) – 1991 – Osaka, Japan
• Nasumoahara Harmony Hall (Not Built/Project Only) – 1991 – Tochigi, Japan
• Pachinko Parlor I – 1991 to 1993 – Ibaraki, Japan
• Villa in the Forest – 1992 to 1994 – Nagano, Japan
• Pachinko Parlor II – 1993 – Ibaraki, Japan
• Y House – 1993 to 1994 – Chiba, Japan
• Police Office in Chofu Station – 1993 to 1994 – Tokyo, Japan
• Service Center at the Tokyo Expo 96 (Not Built/Project Only) – 1994 to 1995 – Tokyo, Japan
• Yokohama International Port Terminal (Not Built/Project Only) – 1994 – Kanagawa, Japan
• Gifu Kitagata Apartment Building – 1994 to 2000 – Gifu, Japan
• Pachinko Parlor III – 1995 to 1996 – Ibaraki, Japan
• U Office Building – 1996 to 1998 – Ibaraki, Japan
• Small House – 1999 to 2000 – Tokyo, Japan
• Kozankaku Student Residence – 1999 to 2000 – Ibaraki, Japan
• hhstyle.com Store – 1999 to 2000 – Tokyo, Japan
• Asahi Shimbun Yamagata Office Building – 2000 to 2002 – Yamagata, Japan
• House in a Plum Grove – 2001 to 2003 – Tokyo, Japan
• Onishi Civic Center – 2003 to 2005 – Gunma, Japan
• Theater and Artscentre- 2007 – Almere, The Netherlands
• New Museum - 2010- New York City, United States
• Shibaura House - 2011 - Tokyo, Japan

Professorship[link]

Sejima teaches as a Visiting Professor, both at Tama Art University and Keio University in Tokyo. Together with Nishizawa, from 2005 to 2008, she held the Jean Labatut Professorship at the School of Architecture at Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey in the United States, where she has also served on the advisory council for several years.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

	Japan portal
	Biography portal

• Women in architecture

References[link]

• Gallery MA (2003). Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA Works 1995–2003. Toto Shuppan. ISBN 978-4-88706-224-5
• GA (2005). Sejima Kazuyo + Nishizawa Ryue Dokuhon. A.D.A. Edita. ISBN 4-87140-662-8
• GA (2005). GA ARCHITECT 18 Sejima Kazuyo + Nishizawa Ryue. A.D.A. Edita. ISBN 4-87140-426-9
• Yuko Hasegawa (2005). Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA, Electa. ISBN 978883703919
• Yuko Hasegawa (2006). Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa: SANAA. Phaidon Press. ISBN 978-1-904313-40-3
• Agustin Perez Rubio (2007). SANAA Houses: Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa. Actar. ISBN 978-84-96540-70-5
• Joseph Grima and Karen Wong (Eds) (2008) Shift: SANAA and the New Museum. Lars Müller Publishers. ISBN 978-3-03778-140-1
• Thomas Daniell (2008). After the Crash: Architecture in Post-Bubble Japan. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1-56898-776-7
• New Museum (2010). http://www.newmuseum.org/about/new_building/

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kazuyo Sejima

• SANAA Official Website (Japanese)
• Kazuyo Sejima appointed as Director of the Architecture Sector for the Biennale di Venezia.
• STORIES OF HOUSES: House in a Plum Grove (Tokyo), by Kazuyo Sejima

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Punjabi: نصرت فتح علی خان (Shahmukhī)) (October 13, 1948 – August 16, 1997), a world-renowned Pakistani musician, was primarily a singer of Qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis (a mystical tradition within Islam). Considered one of the greatest singers ever recorded, he possessed a six-octave vocal range^{[citation needed]} and could perform at a high level of intensity for several hours.^[1] Extending the 600-year old Qawwali tradition of his family, Khan is widely credited with introducing Sufi music to international audiences.^[2][3] He was popularly known as "Shahenshah-e-Qawwali", meaning "The King of Kings of Qawwali".^[4]

Born in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Khan had his first public performance at age of 16, at his father's chelum. He officially became the head of the family qawwali party in 1971, and was signed by Oriental Star Agencies (OSA), Birmingham, U.K., in the early 1980s. In subsequent years, Khan released movie scores and albums for various labels in Pakistan, Europe, Japan and the U.S. He engaged in collaborations and experiments with Western artists, becoming a well-known world music artist in the process. He toured extensively, performing in over 40 countries.^[5]

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Khan was born on October 13, 1948 in the city of Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), Pakistan. He was the fifth child and first son of Fateh Ali Khan, a musicologist, vocalist, instrumentalist, and Qawwal. Khan's family, which included four older sisters and a younger brother, Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, grew up in central Lyallpur. Initially, his father did not want Khan to follow the family's vocation. He had his heart set on Khan choosing a much more respectable career path and becoming a doctor, because he felt Qawwali artists had low social status. However, Khan showed such an aptitude for, and interest in, Qawwali that his father finally relented.^[6] Khan began by learning to play tabla alongside his father before progressing to learn Raag Vidya and Bol Bandish. He then went on to learn to sing within the classical framework of khayal. Khan's training with his father was cut short when his father died in 1964, leaving Khan's paternal uncles, Mubarak Ali Khan and Salamat Ali Khan, to complete his training. His first performance was at a traditional graveside ceremony for his father, known as chehlum, which took place forty days after his father's death.

In 1971, after the death of Mubarak Ali Khan, Khan became the official leader of the family Qawwali party and the party became known as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan & Party. Khan's first public performance as the leader of the Qawwali party was at a studio recording broadcast as part of an annual music festival organised by Radio Pakistan, known as Jashn-e-Baharan. Khan sang mainly in Urdu and Punjabi and occasionally in Persian, Braj Bhasha and Hindi. His first major hit in Pakistan was the song Haq Ali Ali, which was performed in a traditional style and with traditional instrumentation. The song featured restrained use of Khan's sargam improvisations.

In 1979, Khan married his first cousin, Naheed (the daughter of Fateh Ali Khan's brother, Salamat Ali Khan); they had one daughter, Nida.^[7]

Early in his career, Khan was signed up by Oriental Star Agencies in the U.K. to their Star Cassette Label. OSA sponsored regular concert tours by Khan to the U.K. from the early '80s onwards, and released much of this live material on cassette, CD, videotape and DVD.G

Later career[link]

In the 1992–93 academic year, Khan was a Visiting Artist in the Ethnomusicology department at the University of Washington, Seattle.^[8]

Khan teamed with Peter Gabriel on the soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ in 1985, with Canadian musician Michael Brook on the albums Mustt Mustt (1990) and Night Song (1996),^[9] and with Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder in 1995 on two songs for the soundtrack to Dead Man Walking. One of these songs ("The Long Road") was re-used on the soundtrack for Eat Pray Love in 2010. Khan also contributed to the soundtrack of Natural Born Killers. He composed the music for the 1994 film Bandit Queen in collaboration with Roger White.

Peter Gabriel's Real World label later released five albums of Khan's traditional Qawwali, together with some of his experimental work which included the albums Mustt Mustt and Star Rise. Khan provided vocals for The Prayer Cycle, which was put together by Jonathan Elias, but died before the vocals could be completed. Alanis Morissette was brought in to sing with his unfinished vocals. Khan also collabrated with Michael Brook to create music for the song "Sweet Pain" used in the movie Any Given Sunday. He also performed traditional Qawwali before international audiences at several WOMAD world music festivals and the single "Dam Mast Qalandar" was remixed by electronic trip hop group Massive Attack in 1998.

His album Intoxicated Spirit was nominated for a Grammy award in 1997 for best traditional folk album.

Khan contributed songs to, and performed in, several Pakistani films. Shortly before his death, he recorded a song each for two Bollywood films, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (in which he also sang the song onscreen) and Kachche Dhaage. He sang the title song of the film Dhadkan. He also sang "Saya bhi saath jab chhod jaye" for Sunny Deol's movie Dillagi. The song was released in 1999, two years after Khan's death.

Khan contributed the song "Gurus of Peace" to the album Vande Mataram, composed by A. R. Rahman, and released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of India's independence. Rahman, who was a big fan of Khan could not do further songs with him. As a tribute, Rahman later released an album titled Gurus of Peace, which featured "Allah Hoo" by Khan. Rahman's 2007 song "Tere Bina" was also done as a tribute to Khan.^[10]

After his death, the song "Solemn Prayer", on which Khan provided vocals, was used on the Peter Gabriel song "Signal to Noise" (on the album Up), and on the soundtrack to the Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Khan Fateh Ali Khan holds the world record for the largest recorded output by a Qawwali artist—a total of 125 albums as of 2001.

Death[link]

Khan was taken ill with kidney and liver failure on August 11, 1997 in London, England, while on the way to Los Angeles in order to receive a kidney transplant. He died of a sudden cardiac arrest at Cromwell Hospital, London, on Saturday, August 16, 1997, aged 48.^[11] His body was returned to Faisalabad, Pakistan, and his funeral was attended by the public.

Composition of Nusrat's qawwali party[link]

The composition of Khan's ensemble, called a "party" (or "Humnawa" in Urdu), changed over its 26 years. Listed below is a snapshot of the party, circa 1983:

1. Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan: Khan's first cousin, vocals
2. Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan: Khan's brother, vocals and lead harmonium
3. Rehmat Ali: vocals and second harmonium
4. Maqsood Hussain: vocals
5. Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Khan's nephew and pupil, vocals
6. Dildar Hussain: percussion
7. Majawar Abbas: mandolin and guitar/chorus, handclapping
8. Mohammed Iqbal Naqvi: secretary of the party, chorus, handclapping
9. Asad Ali: chorus, handclapping. Khan's cousin
10. Ghulam Farid: chorus, handclapping
11. Kaukab Ali: chorus, handclapping

The one significant member of the party who does not appear on this list is Atta Fareed. For many years, he alternated with Rehmat Ali on vocals and second harmonium. He is easily identifiable in videos since he plays the harmonium left-handed.

This snapshot is non-representative in one respect: harmoniums were usually the only instruments. Only rarely were instruments like mandolin or guitar used.

Awards and titles[link]

Khan is widely considered to be the most important qawwal in history.^[12][13] In 1987, Khan received the President of Pakistan’s Award for Pride of Performance for his contribution to Pakistani music.^[8][14] In 1995 he received the UNESCO Music Prize.^[15][16] In 1996 he was awarded Grand Prix des Amériques at Montreal World Film Festival for exceptional contribution to the art of cinema.^[17] In 2005, Khan was awarded the "Legends" award at the UK Asian Music Awards.^[18] Time magazine's issue of November 6, 2006, "60 Years of Asian Heroes", lists him as one of the top 12 artists and thinkers in the last 60 years.^[19] He also appeared on NPR's 50 Great Voices list in 2010.^[20] In August 2010 he was included in CNN's list of the twenty most iconic musicians from the past fifty years.^[21]

Many honorary titles were bestowed upon Khan during his 25-year music career. He was given the title of Ustad after performing classical music at a function in Lahore on his father's death anniversary.^[22]

Tributes, legacy and influence[link]

Alexandra A. Seno of Asiaweek wrote:^[23]

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's voice was otherworldly. For 25 years, his mystical songs transfixed millions. It was not long enough ... He performed qawali, which means wise or philosophical utterance, as nobody else of his generation did. His vocal range, talent for improvisation and sheer intensity were unsurpassed.

Jeff Buckley cited Khan as a major influence, saying of him "He's my Elvis", and performing the first few minutes of Khan's hit "Yeh Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai" (including vocals) at live concerts.^[24][25] Many other artists have also cited Khan as an influence, such as A. R. Rahman,^[26] Sheila Chandra,^[27] and Alim Qasimov.^[28]

Paul Williams picked a concert performance by Khan for inclusion in his 2000 book The 20th Century's Greatest Hits: a 'top-40' list, in which he devotes a chapter each to what he considers the top 40 artistic achievements of the 20th century in any field (including art, movies, music, fiction, non-fiction, science-fiction).^[29]

In 2008, Khan was listed in 14th position in UGO's list of the best singers of all time.^[30]

In 2004, a tribute band called (Brooklyn Qawwali Party) (formerly Brook's Qawwali Party) was formed in New York City by percussionist Brook Martinez to perform the music of Khan. The 13-piece group still performs mostly instrumental jazz versions of Khan's qawwalis, using the instruments conventionally associated with jazz rather than those associated with qawwali.^[31]

Films[link]

Documentaries[link]

• Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: le dernier prophète (1996). Directed by Jérôme de Missolz.
• Nusrat has Left the Building... But When? (1997). Directed by Farjad Nabi. (This 20-minute docudrama focuses on Khan's early career.)
• A Voice from Heaven (1999). Directed by Giuseppe Asaro. New York, NY: Winstar TV & Video. (This 75-minute documentary, available on VHS and DVD, provides an introduction to Khan's life and work.)
• Samandar Main Samandar (2007). A documentary aired on Geo TV detailing Khan's career.
• The King of Qawalli (2009). A short film aired on Dawn News about Khan's life and career.

Concert films[link]

• The JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance (1990). Video 14 (of 30) (South Asia IV). Produced by Ichikawa Katsumori; directed by Nakagawa Kunikiko and Ichihashi Yuji; in collaboration with the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka. [Tokyo]: JVC, Victor Company of Japan; Cambridge, Massachusetts: distributed by Rounder Records. Features a studio performance by Khan and Party (two Urdu-language songs: a Hamd, and a Manqabat for Khwaja Mu`inuddin Chishti. Filmed in Tokyo, Japan, September 20, 1987, for Asian Traditional Performing Arts).
• Nusrat! Live at Meany (1998). Produced by the University of Washington. (87-minute recording of a January 23, 1993 concert at Meany Hall, University of Washington in Seattle, during Khan's residency at the Ethnomusicology Program there.)
• Live in Concert in the U.K. (DVD, vols. 1–17) [OSA]; recorded between 1983 and 1993; first thirteen listed below:
  • Live in Concert in UK (DVD vol. 1)
  • Live in Concert (DVD vol. 2)
  • Live in Concert (DVD vol. 3)
  • Live in UK (DVD vol. 4)
  • Live in UK (DVD vol. 5)
  • Live in Concert (DVD vol. 6)
  • Live in UK (DVD vol. 7)
  • Live in UK (DVD vol. 8)
  • Live in UK (DVD vol. 9)
  • Live in UK (DVD vol. 10)
  • Live in UK (DVD vol. 11)
  • Digbeth Birmingham 12 November 1983 (DVD vol. 12)
  • Digbeth 30 October 1983 (DVD vol. 13)
• Akhiyan Udeek Diyan (DVD) [Nupur Audio]
• Je Tun Rab Nu Manauna (DVD) [Nupur Audio]
• Yaadan Vicchre Sajan Diyan Aayiyan (DVD) [Nupur Audio]
• Rang-e-Nusrat (DVD, vols. 1–11) [Music Today]; recorded between 1983 and 1993 (same material as the OSA DVDs)
• VHS videotapes, vols. 1–21 [OSA]; recorded between 1983 and 1993 (same material as the OSA DVDs)
  • Luxor Cinema Birmingham (VHS vol. 1, 1979)
  • Digbeth Birmingham (VHS vol. 2, 1983)
  • St. Francis Hall Birmingham (VHS vol. 3, 1983)
  • Royal Oak Birmingham (VHS vol. 4, 1983)
  • Private Mehfil (Wallace Lawley Centre, Lozells Birmingham, November 1983) (VHS vol. 5)
  • Private Mehfil (VHS vol. 6, 1983)
  • Natraj Cinema Leicester (VHS vol. 7, 1983)
  • Live In Southall (VHS vol. 8)
  • Live In Bradford (VHS vol. 9, 1983)
  • Live In Birmingham (VHS vol. 10, 1985)
  • Allah Ditta Hall (VHS vol. 11, 1985)
  • Harrow Leisure Centre (VHS vol. 12)
  • University Of Aston (VHS vol. 13, 1988)
  • Aston University (VHS vol. 14, 1988)
  • WOMAD Festival Bracknell (VHS vol. 15, 1988)
  • Live In Paris (VHS vol. 16, 1988)
  • Poplar Civic Centre London (VHS vol. 17)
  • Imperial Hotel Birmingham (VHS vol. 18, 1985)
  • Slough Gurdawara (SHABADS) (VHS vol. 19)
  • Imran Khan Cancer Appeal (VHS vol. 20)
  • Town Hall Birmingham (VHS vol. 21, 1993)

See also[link]

• List of Pakistani musicians
• Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan albums

References[link]

Additional reading[link]

• Baud, Pierre-Alain. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, The Messenger of Qawwali. Editions Demi-Lune, 2008. (A biography of Nusrat)

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

• Article with brief 1993 interview (edwebproject.org)
• King of Qawali documentary on YouTube
• NPR Audio Report: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: The Voice Of Pakistan
• Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan at the Internet Movie Database

Nia Long
Long in 2012
Born	(1970-10-30) October 30, 1970 (age 41) Brooklyn, New York, United States
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1986–present

Nia Talita Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Third Watch, and the films Boyz n the Hood, Boiler Room, Soul Food, Love Jones, The Best Man, Big Momma's House, and Are We There Yet?.

Early years[link]

Long was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Talita, a teacher and printmaker, and Doughtry "Doc" Long, a high school teacher and poet. Her family is of Afro-Trinidadian descent.^[1][2][3] Her name, Nia, is one of the seven days of Kwanzaa, which means purpose in Swahili. Long was only two years old when her parents were divorced. She moved to Iowa City, Iowa, where her mother studied fine arts. Long subsequently moved to a South Los Angeles neighborhood when she was seven year old, where her mother was supposed to get married. The wedding was called off, but Talita had fallen in love with L.A. and they stayed.^[4] Long's father currently resides in Trenton, New Jersey. Long's half-sister is comedienne Sommore, one of the stars of The Queens of Comedy.

Long attended the Roman Catholic school St. Mary's Academy^[5] and studied ballet, tap, jazz, gymnastics, guitar, and acting. She graduated from Westchester High School in 1989. Due to the lack of employment opportunities in the arts in Los Angeles when Long and her mother first arrived there, Long's mother took various low-paying jobs (despite having two master's degrees). The family suffered through financial struggle for years.

Career[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2010)

Long's acting coach was Betty Bridges, better known as the mother of Diff'rent Strokes star Todd Bridges. Her earliest role was in the Disney television movie, The B.R.A.T Patrol alongside Sean Astin, Tim Thomerson and Brian Keith. Her first notable role on television was a three-year contract role as Kathryn "Kat" Speakes on the soap opera Guiding Light. Long portrayed Kat from 1991 to 1994. From 1994 - 1995, she played Will Smith's girlfriend and fiancée Beulah "Lisa" Wilkes on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Jada Pinkett-Smith was originally supposed to play Lisa, but was too short for the role (opposite a 6'2" Will Smith), thus leaving Nia to take the part. In 2003, she joined the cast of the drama Third Watch, where she played NYPD Officer Sasha Monroe, continuing until the series finale in 2005. In 2005 and 2006, Long appeared on Everwood, and appeared on Boston Legal during its 2006-2007 season. Long also starred in Big Shots from 2007-2008 alongside Michael Vartan and Dylan McDermott.

Long appeared in supporting roles in a number of movies such as Boyz n the Hood, Friday, and Made in America. Long played a leading role, or a member of the primary ensemble, in several films, including Soul Food, Love Jones, Boiler Room, Big Momma's House, Are We There Yet?, and The Best Man. Ice Cube has starred with her in four films, while (fellow Westchester High alum) Regina King has starred with her in two. Long starred alongside Michael Beach in Soul Food and in the TV series Third Watch.

Long appears in the video for Kanye West's "Touch the Sky". She directed Yolanda Adams's music video for "This Too Shall Pass". She won a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 2004 for her performance on Third Watch. Long co-directed and appeared in Ashanti's music video, "Baby". She also made a guest appearance on the successful sitcom Living Single during its first season. She then got in contact with Gina Wilson because she wanted to become an actress also.

Personal life[link]

Long and her former long-time boyfriend and fellow actor Massai Z. Dorsey have a son, Massai Zhivago Dorsey II, born on November 26, 2000. Dorsey and Long were engaged to be married, but the pair have since ended their relationship.^{[citation needed]}

With regard to being a working mother, Long says "she is up for the challenge so long as it does not require disturbing her family's well-being". "If I’m gonna hustle, I want to hustle in one place... I uprooted everything, moved to New York for two years, moved back and it was great but I really am enjoying the stability."

Nia Long gave birth to her second child, a boy named Kez Sunday Udoka on November 7, 2011.^[6] The baby's father is Long's boyfriend NBA Basketball player Ime Udoka.

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nia Long

• Nia Long at the Internet Movie Database
• Ask Men - Nia Long
• Nia Long poses nude for PETA