Actress Nia Long made her Hollywood debut in 1991 in John Singleton's acclaimed film Boyz n the Hood, and soon she was a regular on both the big and small screens. She had breakout roles in two films in 1997--Soul Food and Love Jones--and by 1999 and 2000, she had reached a peak in her career, with starring roles in eight films, including The Best Man and Martin Lawrence's Big Momma's House. After taking a three-year break to care for her young son, Long returned to Hollywood in a plum role opposite Jude Law in a remake of the romantic comedy Alfie and then a stint on the award-winning television drama Third Watch. From girl next door to sexy vixen, Long has played a diverse mix of roles, demonstrating her versatility as an actress.

Nia Long was born on October 30, 1970, in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Doughtry Long, a poet and high school teacher, and his wife, Talita. Her parents divorced when she was young, and in 1974, four-year-old Nia and her mother moved to Iowa City, where her mother pursued a master's degree in printmaking. As the only black child at her school, Long encountered racism early on. At age six, she recalled in an interview in People magazine, she encountered a neighborhood bully who pushed her off her bike and used a racial slur against her. The next day, her mother marched her over to the attacker's house to confront him. "I didn't want Nia to be scared," Talita Long told People. The experience toughened Long and taught her how to stand up for herself--skills that later would come in handy in Hollywood.

Four years later, Long was uprooted again when her mother followed a boyfriend whom she planned to marry to Los Angeles. By the time they called off the engagement, Talita Long had fallen in love with Los Angeles, and they settled in the Westchester neighborhood in the south-central part of the city. Her mother worked hard to make a life for them. Even though she had two master's degrees, she made ends meet by driving a city bus, selling beer at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and teaching art part-time in a local school and at the nearby Chino prison. By the time Long was in junior high school, her mother had begun urging her to pursue a career in acting.

Found Success in Hollywood

Long enrolled...