Nia Long (1970- ) is an American television and film actress. She is best known as the female lead in “Love Jones” (1997) and as Will Smith’s girlfriend in the “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”. She was also the youngest sister in “Soul Food” (1997). She now appears on television in “Big Shots” (2007).
Nia Long often appears as the female lead in black films, but only as a supporting character in white films. For example, she was the female lead opposite Ice Cube in “Are We There Yet?” (2005), but in “Premonition” (2007) she was Sandra Bullock’s Black Best Friend.
So while Nia Long is well known among blacks in America she is largely unknown among whites.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of a high school English teacher from Trinidad, she was named “Nitara” after one of the seven days of Kwanzaa. Her name means “life purpose”.
Her parents divorced when she was two. When she was four her mother moved to Iowa in the middle of the country, where she studied printmaking. Nia was the only black at her school. She soon found out what this meant when a boy pushed her off her bicycle and called her “nigger”.
When Nia was seven her mother followed her boyfriend to Los Angeles. They moved to South Central, not far from where “Boyz n the Hood” would later be filmed. Her mother drove a city bus and taught art. Nia’s first boyfriend was killed in a crack deal gone bad.
She studied acting under Betty Bridges, the mother of child actor Todd Bridges of “Diff’rent Strokes”. Nia Long first became known when she played Cuba Gooding’s girlfriend in “Boyz n the Hood” (1991). She was the one who was trying to do her homework despite the sound of gunfire.
From 1992 to 1994 she was on the soap opera “Guiding Light”. It was in New York so she got to see her father again. She did not play a female character but a white person’s idea of a black woman. She had to rewrite her lines because they sounded so corny, as she put it.
From 1994 to 1995 she played Will Smith’s girlfriend in the television show “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”. Will Smith saw her talent and gave her the part over Jada Pinkett, his future wife.
In 1997 she appeared in “Soul Food” and “Love Jones”. They made her name as a film actress.
Since then she has appeared in many other films, like “The Best Man” (1999), “Big Momma’s House” (2000) and “Alfie” (2004). “Are We There Yet?” was not one for the ages, but it did well at the box office.
On television she has been in “Judging Amy” (2001-2002), “Third Watch” (2003-2005), “Everwood” (2006) and “Boston Legal” (2007), among others.
She loved “Boston Legal”: she said the writing was “so beautiful and layered, so full of life”. She got to work with actors who “take their craft very seriously”.
See also:
You said that when Nia Long played in Guiding Light her character was a white man’s idea of a Black woman. Since you are a WM, what is the white man’s idea of a BW (I notice that you mentioned corny lines)?
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It was Nia Long who said the lines were corny and that she was playing a white person’s idea of a black woman.
Most of script writers for American flim and television are white men. It is their view of the world that we see on television, for the most part. This goes way beyond Nia Long and “Guiding Light” in the 1990s. But since she commented on it, I put it in the post.
As to how white American men think of black women, you might be interested in these posts:
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Oh, my. Just saw her in “Alfie” yesterday. That pool table scene was just… HOT.
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You say that the lovely Ms Long is largely unknown among whites yet everyone I showed the picture to recognised her. Is it a European/American thing? I’m Irish living in England.
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Nia Lon is just fly! I’m sorry she is beatiful!
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I carried out my survey by simply asking “Who is Nia Long?” Her face is probably better known among whites than her name. After all she did play Will Smith’s girlfriend on “Fresh Prince” and has appeared on white shows as a supporting character.
Also: blacks often bring up her name as someone who is beautiful and black. I have never heard a white person do that – it is always Halle and Beyonce – though I think most of them would regard Miss Long as beautiful.
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She looks like a younger version of my mother-in law, the eyes and nose man lol.
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Nia Long is very beautiful and talented. I am kind of disappointed in how her career turned out. I wish she was more in our face.
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@ Mike
What’s up with Irishmen and black women in London Mike? Are they the new Italian? I’d say 70% of white men that approach me in London are Irish.
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I find her better looking with the short hair,
She was very cute in the Fresh prince.
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Nia Long is a very pretty lady. She has an odd shape and that is why I love her the most. Those wide hips are unseen among most people on TV.
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@nubiahbella:
I wholeheartedly agree. She can carry off short hairstyles that only I can dream of.
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Could you verify your information? I am pretty sure Nia has a Barbadian heritage.
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A gorgeous woman! One of my first crushes. A true black beauty. 🙂
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Great piece, I just dissagree with the Nia long statement that she is largely know by black audiences and not the white. Nia long is pretty much well known and has put her staple in Hollywood .That has to mean something good. Be Well
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@ KingRaized
Maybe that is true in 2019, but not in 2008 when I wrote this post.
That statement was not an assumption or a guess – I asked. Pretty much every Black person over the age of 25 that I asked knew who Nia Long was, but only one White person out of like ten did. It was startling.
I had assumed everyone knew who she was – till I was brought short by a blank stare when I was talking about her to a non-Black friend.
Try it yourself: Ask White people if they know who Nia Long is and see what happens.
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