Sanaa Lathan

Sanaa Lathan

Born: September 19, 1971
in New York City, New York, USA
Sanaa McCoy Lathan (/səˈnɑ/ born September 19, 1971) is an American stage, film, television, and voice actress. She is the daughter of actress Eleanor McCoy and film director Stan Lathan. She earned bachelor's degree in English from University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree in drama from Yale.

She is best known for her roles as Robyn in The Best Man films and subsequent TV miniseries on Peacock, Naomi Hicks on Netflix's Hit & Run, Violet Jones in Nappily Ever After, Ashe Akino on Fox's drama Shots Fired, Deputy Director Natalie Austin in Now You See Me 2 (2016), Leah Vaughn in The Perfect Guy (2015), Jenelle Wilson on Showtime's drama The Affair, Mona Fredricks on Starz' drama Boss, Andrea in Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (2008), Beneatha Younger in ABC's film adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun (2008), Kenya McQueen in Something New (2006), Ann Merai Harrison in Out of Time (2004), Sidney 'Sid' Shaw in Brown Sugar (2002), Monica Wright in Love & Basketball (2000), Zora Banks in Disappearing Acts (2000), Alicia in The Wood (1999), Vanessa Brooks - the mother of Wesley Snipes' title character - in Blade (1998), and Briana Gilliam on NBC's sitcom Lateline.

She had recurring roles on HBO's Succession and FX's Nip/Tuck, and starred on NBC's short-lived sitcom Built to Last. In 2022, she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, for her work on the television series Succession.

Her other movie credits include With/In Vol 1 (2021) and Vol 2 (2022), American Assassin (2017), Contagion (2011), Powder Blue (2009), AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004), and more. She voiced Catwoman on HBO's animated series Harley Quinn, and Donna Tubbs on The Cleveland Show and on all Family Guy appearances.

In 2004, she starred on Broadway as Beneatha Younger in A Raisin in the Sun with Sean Combs, Audra McDonald, and Phylicia Rashad, and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress. She later reprise her role in the 2008 film adaptation. In 2010, she starred in the all-black performance of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Novello Theatre in London.

She earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her recurring role on Succession. She received an NAACP Image Award Nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her performance in Brown Sugar. She received a NAACP Image Award nomination for her performance in The Best Man. She earned an Essence Award for Best Actress for her performance in Disappearing Acts. She earned the 2001 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress, and a BET Award for her performance in Love & Basketball.

In 2000, she was named by Ebony magazine as one of its 55 Most Beautiful People and was honored by Essence magazine and Black Entertainment Television.

In 2022, she made her directorial debut with the film On the Come Up, in which she also has a supporting role.

Movies for Sanaa Lathan...

Young. Wild. Free.
Title: Young. Wild. Free.
Character: Janice Huffman
Released: January 22, 2023
Type: Movie
High school senior Brandon is drowning in responsibilities when his world is turned upside down after being robbed at gunpoint by the girl of his dreams.
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Title: The Best Man: The Final Chapters
Character: Robyn
Released: December 22, 2022
Type: TV
Catch up with Harper, Robyn, Jordan, Lance, Quentin, Shelby, Candace, and Murch as their relationships evolve and past grievances resurface in the unpredictable stages of midlife crisis meets midlife renaissance.
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On the Come Up
Title: On the Come Up
Character: Jay
Released: September 23, 2022
Type: Movie
Sixteen-year-old Brianna Jackson is a gifted rapper who plans to take the battle rap scene by storm to lift up her family and do right by the legacy of her father, a local hip-hop legend whose career was cut short by gang violence. However, when her first hit song goes viral for all the wrong reasons, she finds herself torn between the authenticity that got her this far and the false persona that the industry wants to impose on her.
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Title: The Jennifer Hudson Show
Character: Self
Released: September 12, 2022
Type: TV
Talented entertainer and newly-minted EGOT Jennifer Hudson takes on the daytime talk show landscape.
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With/In Volume 2
Title: With/In Volume 2
Released: March 15, 2022
Type: Movie
An anthology film that centres around relationships, love and family. A man misses his flight and instead finds love in quarantine, a lonely therapist finds companionship in an unwanted pet, two sisters find courage to say things they never had the words to say, and an unexpected packet of sourdough starter has horrifying and hilarious consequences. These are some of the stories captured in WITH/IN, a collection of thirteen films created by actors and their families during the time that changed our lives forever.
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Title: Hit & Run
Character: Naomi Hicks
Released: August 6, 2021
Type: TV
A happily married man's life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a mysterious hit-and-run accident in Tel Aviv. Grief-stricken and confused, he searches for his wife's killers, who have fled to the U.S. With the help of an ex-lover, he uncovers disturbing truths about his beloved wife and the secrets she kept from him.
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With/In Volume 1
Title: With/In Volume 1
Character: (segment "Leap")
Released: June 13, 2021
Type: Movie
Giving creatives the chance to step outside the box while being confined to their own homes, the filmmakers behind With/In range from seasoned directors to first-timers, all provided with the same iPhone and basic gear to bring their visions to life.
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Title: Solos
Character: Nia (voice)
Released: May 21, 2021
Type: TV
Anthology series telling character-driven stories set at different moments in time, aiming to showcase that during people's most isolated moments, and in disparate circumstances, the human experience connects everyone.
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Title: Harley Quinn
Character: Catwoman (voice)
Released: November 29, 2019
Type: TV
Harley Quinn has finally broken things off once and for all with the Joker and attempts to make it on her own as the criminal Queenpin of Gotham City.
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Title: The Twilight Zone
Character: Nina Harrison
Released: April 1, 2019
Type: TV
Tales of science fiction, fantasy and the occult, exploring humanity's hopes, despairs, prides and prejudices in metaphoric ways. Next stop ahead The Twilight Zone.
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Native Son
Title: Native Son
Character: Trudy Thomas
Released: January 24, 2019
Type: Movie
A young black man named Bigger Thomas takes a job working for a highly influential Chicago family, a decision that will change the course of his life forever.
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Nappily Ever After
Title: Nappily Ever After
Character: Violet Jones
Released: September 21, 2018
Type: Movie
After an accident at the hair salon, Violet realizes she's not living life to the fullest. A soulful barber helps her put the pieces back together.
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Title: Succession
Character: Lisa Arthur
Released: June 3, 2018
Type: TV
Follow the lives of the Roy family as they contemplate their future once their aging father begins to step back from the media and entertainment conglomerate they control.
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American Assassin
Title: American Assassin
Character: Irene Kennedy
Released: September 14, 2017
Type: Movie
Following the murder of his fiancée, Mitch Rapp trains under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley. The pair then is enlisted to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on military and civilian targets.
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Title: Shots Fired
Character: Ashe Akino
Released: March 22, 2017
Type: TV
A media storm sets off when an African-American cop kills a white teenager in a small North Carolina town.
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Approaching the Unknown
Title: Approaching the Unknown
Character: Captain Emily Maddox
Released: June 3, 2016
Type: Movie
Captain William Stanaforth is on a one-way solo mission to take the first steps in colonising Mars. Like all pioneers throughout history, Stanaforth will face insurmountable odds and life and death decisions as he rockets bravely through space.
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Now You See Me 2
Title: Now You See Me 2
Character: Deputy Director Natalie Austin
Released: June 2, 2016
Type: Movie
One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public’s adulation with their mind-bending spectacles, the Four Horsemen resurface only to find themselves face to face with a new enemy who enlists them to pull off their most dangerous heist yet.
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The Perfect Guy
Title: The Perfect Guy
Character: Leah Vaughn
Released: September 11, 2015
Type: Movie
With a fulfilling career and a loving relationship, lobbyist Leah Vaughn seems to have it all. Things come crashing down when Dave, her long-term boyfriend, disagrees with her future plans for marriage and a family. The resulting painful breakup leaves Leah heartbroken, until she meets the charming and handsome Carter Duncan. Soon, the budding romance turns dangerous as Carter reveals his volatile nature, forcing Leah to break up with the man she thought was Mr. Right. She soon realizes that Carter doesn't want to let her go.
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Title: The Affair
Character: Jenelle Wilson
Released: October 12, 2014
Type: TV
The Affair explores the emotional effects of an extramarital relationship between Noah Solloway and Alison Lockhart after the two meet in the resort town of Montauk in Long Island. Noah is a New York City schoolteacher with one novel published (book entitled A Person who Visits a Place) and he is struggling to write a second book. He is happily married with four children, but resents his dependence on his wealthy father-in-law. Alison is a young waitress trying to piece her life and marriage back together in the wake of the tragic death of her child. The story of the affair is told separately, complete with distinct memory biases, from the male and female perspectives.
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Repentance
Title: Repentance
Character: Maggie
Released: February 28, 2014
Type: Movie
An earnest life-coach/author, Thomas Carter, is mysteriously abducted by a deranged client, Angel Sanchez, who delves into Thomas' teachings and uses his spiritual messages of Karma - action and reaction (Vipaka), against him to terrorize him and his family for their past sins.
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The Best Man Holiday
Title: The Best Man Holiday
Character: Robyn
Released: November 15, 2013
Type: Movie
When college friends reunite after 15 years over the Christmas holidays, they discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and romances to be reignited.
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Title: Boss
Character: Mona Fredricks
Released: October 21, 2011
Type: TV
Boss is an American political drama television serial created by Farhad Safinia. The series stars Kelsey Grammer as Tom Kane, the mayor of Chicago, who has recently been diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies, a degenerative neurological disorder.
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Contagion
Title: Contagion
Character: Aubrey Cheever
Released: September 8, 2011
Type: Movie
As an epidemic of a lethal airborne virus - that kills within days - rapidly grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself.
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Title: The Cleveland Show
Character: Donna Tubbs (voice)
Released: September 27, 2009
Type: TV
The bizarre adventures of Cleveland Brown and his family.
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Title: Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Character: Self - Guest
Released: July 16, 2009
Type: TV
Bravo network executive Andy Cohen discusses pop culture topics with celebrities and reality show personalities.
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Powder Blue
Title: Powder Blue
Character: Diana
Released: May 8, 2009
Type: Movie
On the gritty streets of LA, the destinies of four people desperate for connection and redemption are about to collide.
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Wonderful World
Title: Wonderful World
Character: Khadi
Released: January 8, 2009
Type: Movie
Ben Singer is a failed children's folk singer, a career proofreader, a less-than-extraordinary weekend dad, and perhaps the most negative man alive. Floundering in all aspects of his life, Ben's only comfort comes from regular chess games and friendly debates on game theory with his Senegalese roommate Ibou. When Ibou is suddenly struck ill, Ben's pessimistic worldview seems unequivocally confirmed. It takes an extended visit from Ibou's sister Khadi for Ben to realize that cynicism may be all a matter of perspective.
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Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys
Title: Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys
Character: Andrea Evans-Bennett
Released: September 12, 2008
Type: Movie
Wealthy socialite Charlotte Cartwright and her dear friend Alice Pratt, a working class woman of high ideals, have enjoyed a lasting friendship throughout several decades. Recently, their lives have become mired in turmoil as their adult children’s extramarital affairs, unethical business practices, and a dark secret threaten to derail family fortunes and unravel the lives of all involved. Charlotte and Alice decide to take a breather from it all by making a cross-country road trip in which they rediscover themselves and possibly find a way to save their families from ruin.
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A Raisin in the Sun
Title: A Raisin in the Sun
Character: Beneatha Younger
Released: February 25, 2008
Type: Movie
Dreams can make a life worth living, but they can also be dashed by bad decisions. This is the crossroads whare the Younger family find themselves when their father passes away and leaves them with $10,000 in life insurance money. Should they buy a new home for the family? Perhaps a liquor store? While no choice is easy, life on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s is even harder.
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Something New
Title: Something New
Character: Kenya McQueen
Released: January 29, 2006
Type: Movie
Kenya McQueen, a corporate lawyer, finds love in the most unexpected place when she agrees to go on a blind date with Brian Kelly, a sexy and free-spirited landscaper.
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The Golden Blaze
Title: The Golden Blaze
Character: Monica (voice)
Released: May 10, 2005
Type: Movie
Two African American boys schoolyard rivalry spirals out of control when their fathers develop superpowers.
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AVP: Alien vs. Predator
Title: AVP: Alien vs. Predator
Character: Alexa Woods
Released: August 12, 2004
Type: Movie
When scientists discover something in the Arctic that appears to be a buried Pyramid, they send a research team out to investigate. Little do they know that they are about to step into a hunting ground where Aliens are grown as sport for the Predator race.
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Out of Time
Title: Out of Time
Character: Ann Merai Harrison
Released: October 3, 2003
Type: Movie
Matt Lee Whitlock, respected chief of police in small Banyan Key, Florida, must solve a vicious double homicide before he himself falls under suspicion. Matt Lee has to stay a few steps ahead of his own police force and everyone he's trusted in order to find out the truth.
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Title: Nip/Tuck
Released: July 22, 2003
Type: TV
Hotshot plastic surgeons Dr. Sean McNamara and Dr. Christian Troy experience full-blown midlife crises as they confront career, family and romance problems.
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Brown Sugar
Title: Brown Sugar
Character: Sidney 'Sid' Shaw
Released: October 5, 2002
Type: Movie
Sidney and Dre can attribute their lifelong friendship and the launch of their careers to one single childhood instant... witnessing the birth of hip-hop on a New York street corner. Now some 15 years later, she is a revered music critic at a national magazine and he is a successful, though unfulfilled, hip-hop record company executive. Both come to realize that their true life passions will only be fulfilled by remembering what they learned that day on the corner.
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Disappearing Acts
Title: Disappearing Acts
Character: Zora Banks
Released: December 9, 2000
Type: Movie
Zora Banks is a school teacher and aspiring singer hoping to become a successful star while taking a break from heartache. Franklin Swift is a down-on-his-luck construction worker and not-quite divorced father of two hoping to start his own business. The two meet and fall in love and during the course of the stormy relationship, they both come to some startling conclusions about love and each other.
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Title: Curb Your Enthusiasm
Character: Sibby Sanders
Released: October 15, 2000
Type: TV
The off-kilter, unscripted comic vision of Larry David, who plays himself in a parallel universe in which he can't seem to do anything right, and, by his standards, neither can anyone else.
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Love & Basketball
Title: Love & Basketball
Character: Monica Wright
Released: April 21, 2000
Type: Movie
Monica Wright and Quincy McCall grew up in the same neighborhood and have known each other since childhood. As they grow into adulthood, they fall in love, but they also share another all-consuming passion: basketball. As Quincy and Monica struggle to make their relationship work, they follow separate career paths though high school and college basketball and, they hope, into stardom in big-league professional ball.
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The Best Man
Title: The Best Man
Character: Robyn
Released: October 22, 1999
Type: Movie
After writing a soon-to-be bestselling novel, writer and committed bachelor Harper attempts to hide the fact that his saucy new book is loosely based on the lives and loves of his tight-knit group of friends. Harper is set to be best man at his friend Lance's wedding, and all his friends will be in attendance. When an advance copy of the book makes its way into the hands of his ex-flame, Jordan, Harper attempts to keep it under wraps.
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The Wood
Title: The Wood
Character: Alicia
Released: July 16, 1999
Type: Movie
In the panicky, uncertain hours before his wedding, a groom with prenuptial jitters and his two best friends reminisce about growing up together in the middle-class African-American neighborhood of Inglewood, California. Flashing back to the twenty-something trio's childhood exploits, the memories capture the mood and nostalgia of the '80s era.
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Life
Title: Life
Character: Daisy
Released: April 16, 1999
Type: Movie
Two men in 1930s Mississippi become friends after being sentenced to life in prison together for a crime they did not commit.
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Catfish in Black Bean Sauce
Title: Catfish in Black Bean Sauce
Character: Nina
Released: April 14, 1999
Type: Movie
An African American couple (Winfield and Alice) adopt two orphans from a Vietnamese refugee camp. After twenty-two years, the children are reunited with their birth mother, bringing deeply submerged resentments and misconceptions to the surface and forcing the characters to reexamine their identity and relationships in both comical and poignant situations.
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Title: Family Guy
Character: Muhammad Ali's Wife (voice)
Released: January 31, 1999
Type: TV
Sick, twisted, politically incorrect and Freakin' Sweet animated series featuring the adventures of the dysfunctional Griffin family. Bumbling Peter and long-suffering Lois have three kids. Stewie (a brilliant but sadistic baby bent on killing his mother and taking over the world), Meg (the oldest, and is the most unpopular girl in town) and Chris (the middle kid, he's not very bright but has a passion for movies). The final member of the family is Brian - a talking dog and much more than a pet, he keeps Stewie in check whilst sipping Martinis and sorting through his own life issues.
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Title: Family Guy
Character: Claire Huxtable (voice)
Released: January 31, 1999
Type: TV
Sick, twisted, politically incorrect and Freakin' Sweet animated series featuring the adventures of the dysfunctional Griffin family. Bumbling Peter and long-suffering Lois have three kids. Stewie (a brilliant but sadistic baby bent on killing his mother and taking over the world), Meg (the oldest, and is the most unpopular girl in town) and Chris (the middle kid, he's not very bright but has a passion for movies). The final member of the family is Brian - a talking dog and much more than a pet, he keeps Stewie in check whilst sipping Martinis and sorting through his own life issues.
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Title: Family Guy
Character: Donna Tubbs (voice)
Released: January 31, 1999
Type: TV
Sick, twisted, politically incorrect and Freakin' Sweet animated series featuring the adventures of the dysfunctional Griffin family. Bumbling Peter and long-suffering Lois have three kids. Stewie (a brilliant but sadistic baby bent on killing his mother and taking over the world), Meg (the oldest, and is the most unpopular girl in town) and Chris (the middle kid, he's not very bright but has a passion for movies). The final member of the family is Brian - a talking dog and much more than a pet, he keeps Stewie in check whilst sipping Martinis and sorting through his own life issues.
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Blade
Title: Blade
Character: Vanessa Brooks
Released: August 21, 1998
Type: Movie
The Daywalker known as "Blade" - a half-vampire, half-mortal man - becomes the protector of humanity against an underground army of vampires.
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Title: LateLine
Character: Briana Gilliam
Released: March 17, 1998
Type: TV
LateLine is an American TV sitcom that ran on NBC from March 17, 1998, through March 16, 1999. Due to an abrupt cancellation, there were seven unaired episodes. Created by John Markus and Al Franken, LateLine depicted the behind-the-scenes goings-on of a fictitious late-night television news broadcast, patterned in part after the long-running ABC program Nightline. Many plotlines in the series were satirical, dealing with topics like Deep Throat and the Watergate break-in, and the episodes often had cameos by famous politicians. On August 17, 2004, Paramount released a DVD set containing all nineteen episodes on three discs.
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Miracle in the Woods
Title: Miracle in the Woods
Character: Young Lilly
Released: October 26, 1997
Type: Movie
Quarreled sisters; Sarah and Wanda inherit property from their mother. It has always belonged to the family. Sarah insists on selling it as soon as possible because she has many difficulties. She goes there with her daughter; Gina. Wanda, on the other hand, wants to keep the property in family. They soon discover that it's not abandoned. Old lady, Lilly Cooper has been living there for many years and doesn't want to leave the house, at least, not as long as she can meet her son.
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Title: Built to Last
Character: Linda
Released: September 24, 1997
Type: TV
Built to Last is an American sitcom that aired on NBC on Wednesday from September 24, 1997, to October 15, 1997.
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Drive
Title: Drive
Character: Carolyn Brody
Released: August 6, 1997
Type: Movie
A prototype enhanced human, on the run from Chinese-hired hit men, hooks up with a dread-locked bystander, and the two of them elude their pursuers narrowly each time.
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Title: Moesha
Character: Ebony
Released: January 23, 1996
Type: TV
Moesha was an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles. It was originally ordered as a pilot for the CBS network's 1995-1996 television season, who rejected. It was then picked up by UPN, who aired it as a mid-season replacement. It went on to become the biggest success for the nascent network and one of the greatest hits over the course of the network's entire run.
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Title: In the House
Character: Charese
Released: April 10, 1995
Type: TV
In the House is an American sitcom
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Title: Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Character: Self - Guest
Released: September 13, 1993
Type: TV
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. The second incarnation of NBC's Late Night franchise, O'Brien's debuted in 1993 after David Letterman, who hosted the first incarnation of Late Night, moved to CBS to host Late Show opposite The Tonight Show. In 2004, as part of a deal to secure a new contract, NBC announced that O'Brien would leave Late Night in 2009 to succeed Jay Leno as the host of The Tonight Show. Jimmy Fallon began hosting his version of Late Night on March 2, 2009.
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Title: Family Matters
Character: Allison
Released: September 22, 1989
Type: TV
A long-running dramedy centering on the Winslow family, a middle-class African American family living in Chicago, and their pesky next-door neighbor, ultra-nerd Steve Urkel. A spin-off of Perfect Strangers.
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Title: LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Character: Self - Guest
Released: September 5, 1988
Type: TV
A morning talk show with A-list celebrity guests, top-notch performances and one-of-a-kind segments that are unrivaled on daytime television, plus spontaneous, hilarious and unpredictable talk.
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The Supremes At Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat
Title: The Supremes At Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
Three best friends dubbed “The Supremes,” who have weathered life’s storms together for two generations through marriage and children, happiness and the blues, find their paths at a crossroads that test their lifelong bond.
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Leap
Title: Leap
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
Sanaa Lathan's directorial debut. A short film created for the With/In anthology.