Nia Long

Nia Long impressed as Cuba Gooding Jr.'s girlfriend in "Boyz in the Hood" (1991) and charmed opposite Will Smith in "Made in America" (1993) and on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (NBC, 1990-96). Achieving movie stardom, she scored memorable roles in such hits as "Friday" (1995), "Love Jones" (1997), "Soul Food" (1997), "Hav Plenty" (1997), "Held Up" (1999), "Stigmata" (1999) and "The Best Man" (1999), for which she won a Best Actress Image Award. Long also scored small roles in "The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy" (2000) and "Boiler Room" (2000), but ascended to box office heaven with roles in the blockbusters "Big Momma's House" (2000) and its 2006 sequel. She earned critical acclaim as undercover detective Sasha Monroe on "Third Watch" (NBC, 1999-2005), which earned her an additional two Best Actress Image Awards. After a supporting turn in "Alfie" (2004), she starred opposite Ice Cube in the family-friendly comedies "Are We There Yet?" (2005) and "Are We Done Yet?" (2007). One of the premier African-American leading ladies of her era, Nia Long proved she was an exceptional talent deserving of bigger and better roles.