Waz' up? Waz' up?
Seeing as how "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" is sadly no more, and seeing as how you have just found your way over to Event Update, perhaps we should assume that you are totally craving another glimpse of Tatyana?
And why wouldn't you be? Tatyana is one of the coolest and cutest young actresses on TV today.
So, where can you catch up with her now?
Once the series finished Tatyana found herself in the daunting and slightly scary position of suddenly having to look for other roles. Last summer she went ahead and shot an independent light comedy movie called "Faking' the Funk" and she has also just completed a TV Movie titled "Fall into Darkness" for NBC which will air on November 25th 1996, and which also co-stars her boyfriend Jonathan Brandis (Lucky Man!).
When we asked the very level-headed Tatyana about her plans for the next year or so she told us, "Well I want to work first and foremost. I want to be able to choose things that are challenging and fun or maybe I will want to work with a certain person. In the case of 'Faking the Funk' part of the reason I did it was because I wanted to work straight after the Fresh Prince finished. I thought it would be good for me mentally and it ended up being a REALLY good experience. If you work for six years straight and then all of a sudden you just stop you can really go nuts."
According to Tatyana, "Faking the Funk", which will be released in theaters in January or February 1997, is a very light comedy. She told Celebrity Sightings that "going to work everyday in an entirely different environment, with an entirely different crew, and a whole different genre was great!"
The story of "Faking the Funk" revolves around a black family who try to adopt a black baby but are instead given an oriental child. After falling in love with him and raising him as one of their own, the family moves from Alabama to the city of Compton in Los Angeles. At this point the oriental guy, who is totally convinced that he is black, meets a street-wise Tatyana and the fun begins.
Changing direction, "Fall Into Darkness" is an action thriller with Tatyana taking the leading role. She plays a studious, rather conservative piano student who falls in with the wrong kind of crowd and is accused of committing a murder. Now of course we don't want to give away the ending but this is a 'killer' of a movie. Keep an eye out for this one and MAKE SURE YOU DON'T MISS IT!
As the lead role in the movie she told Celebrity Sightings that she now feels a huge amount of pressure and responsibility for the success of the film. She says "It was such great fun. I can't wait to see how it actually looks. Being the lead you feel you have the weight of the world on your shoulders - I still freak out. She holds hers hands up in front of her eyes and laughs "I think I am going to watch the movie like this!"
So there you have it. If you want to make sure that you are always totally hooked into the latest events in Tatyana's life stay tuned to Celebrity Sightings. In the next few weeks we will be bringing you more scoops on both these projects PLUS, find out about a super-special music project that is very hush hush.
FROM RUBBER CHICKENS TO FRESH PRINCES
In show biz terms Tatyana Ali is something of a veteran even though she is still only 18. Born January the 24th 1979 her rise to stardom began at the very early age of four and a half when she was growing up in Long Island, New York.
So how would you go about getting a break at such a tender age?
Well according to her Mom, Tatyana "was always a busy body and was always entertaining whenever we had family gatherings." One day when reading the local newspaper, Sonia Ali noticed that there was a manager in the area auditioning for new kids. She asked Tatyana if she wanted to go along and of course she jumped at the chance .
Now as fate would have it on the day of the audition Sonia was feeling kind of tired and really didn't feel like going. But the young Tatyana was as determined as ever. She begged and pleaded until her Mom finally relented and went along to the audition although they really had no idea what to expect or what it might lead to.
According to Tatyana, there were 'gazillions' of kids milling around when they arrived. Her Mom told Celebrity Sightings, "We got there kind of late and there were a lot of people, but the funny thing was that a lady came straight out of the room at the front of the audition and began to look around scanning the room. As soon as she saw Tatyana she asked us to come in."
Was it fate? Was it destiny? Or perhaps it was just lady luck lending a hand. Whatever the reason, it was certainly one of those strange deciding moments that influenced the rest of Tatyana's life.
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
Tatyana was handed a rubbber chicken and asked to shout " I love KFC!!! I love KFC!!!"
Tatyana grins and tells us "I must have said it in a really obnoxious way because they liked it." Two weeks later the manager called back and asked Tatyana to read a script in her office. She then began sending Tatyana out to meet agents and have auditions. Soon after her first acting break holding a rubber chicken Tatyana landed a role on the classic kids TV show "Sesame Street" and the rest, as they say, is history!
Courtesy of Celebrity Sightings