(Terms and conditions). I played basketball in high school even though it wasnt my thing. Menu. But the freedom and aliveness that came with being more at home in myself kept me pushing forward. They gave me an assistant coach for the LA Sparks and she had me training five hours a day before I got the job.. Sanaa McCoy Lathan was born on September 19, 1971, in New York City, New York, the U.S. Still, during an appearance on Strong Black Leads Surviving The No, the actress revealed that her break-out role almost didnt happen. The accolades include: The actress has been in various relationships throughout her life. (Yes, teenage boys worshipped his game, on and off the court.). Impossible. Tendaji Lathan, Colette Lathan, Lilane Lathan, Arielle Lathan. Then a bright star came into view. Epps is one of Sanna's boyfriend who by profession is a actor, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. When she was growing up, she felt that she needed to become a lawyer, just like her father she even went to Harvard and started law school; then saw Love & Basketball, and the movie completely changed her life. Find those wherever you like to listen, or visit us at onbeing.org to find out more. It was her baby and it was her first time directing. (My partner-in-cinema, A.O. I didnt know what I wanted my future to look like. Terrell Owens, an American Football wide receiver (2006), Steve Rifkind, an American music entrepreneur (2009-2010), French Montana, an American rapper (2013), Do Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps have a child together? No way Monica would let that happen to her. She had gone to University and pursued a degree in English. As a voice actress, she made her TV show debut as Donna Tubbs inThe Cleveland Show in 2009. Sanaa was 5 years oldwhen she met the legendary singer-songwriter. We were looking forward to it for weeks, just because it was a love movie, and a love movie featuring Black characters. And along the way, the things that I tried on, I still incorporate them in my life. Yoga and dance are a huge part of my life now. An American music entrepreneur, Steve started dating the gorgeous Lathan in 2009 and broke up in early 2010. An American actor and former fashion model, Shemar is one of Lathan's boyfriend. Moreover, she is well best known for her Tony Award-nominated performance in the film A Raisin. In the next scene, a fresh cut is bleeding on Monicas chin and her mother is cleaning it in the bathroom while scolding her for running around like a little boy. Annoyed, Monica yanks her head away, eyes her new wound in the mirror and smiles. 50 years old (as of 2022) Zodiac sign: Virgo; Place of birth: New York City, New York, Love & Basketball as Monica Wright (2000) The Smoker as Roxanne (2000) Brown Sugar as You talk about how you were feeling at that time, when you first encountered Monica. Predator, Love & Basketball, Brown Sugar and The Family That Preys. It Changed My Whole Life.. WebLove & Basketball Sanaa Lathan was: 28 Played: Monica Wright Fri, Apr 21 2000 The Best Man Sanaa Lathan was: 28 Played: Robin Fri, Oct 22 1999 The Wood Sanaa Watch on. He is a football player by profession. Dont think Im preaching this message from the mountaintop. Tamani: Yes. But I really started to look out into my future at that point and see misery. It took dismissing the pressures from everyone else and standing strong in herself. Adewale dated the gorgeous Lathan from the year 2007 till 2008. Percy: And you wrote about that in your really just beautiful essay for Time magazine, called Love & Basketball Was More Than a Movie. Some of her notable film credit includes the box-office hit The Best Man and its 2013 sequel, Alien vs. This site uses cookies to serve you better. When he first saw the movie in 1997, he was captivated by all the things it got right about his world the accents, dialogue, and intimate moments. I cant my future cannot be here. Thats how I felt. All About Angie Watson, The Best Drama Movies on Netflix to Stream Now, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Friendship Timeline, The Cast of 'The Super Mario Bros Movie': All About the Voice Actors, *NSYNC Remembers U.S. By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Along the way to becoming a writer, I worked in marketing, which I guess I have to incorporate it for my writing, but I dont enjoy it. And shes going through such a difficult period in her life that ultimately helps her to understand what it is thats missing. WebLove & Basketball (2000) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. It took me out of my misery, and it just swept over me, the feeling of love, and made me just so ready to take it all in. Sanaa made her theatrical film debut asCarolyn Brody in Drive in 1997. The romantic drama starred Omar Epps as hotshot basketball player Quincy McCall and Sanaa Lathan as his feisty girlfriend Monica Wright, who loves the sport as much as he does. Sitting in the Harvard Square movie theater, between two of my girls from class, I watched Monica Wright roll up on her new neighbor and his friends playing basketball and ask if she could join. 51 years old: Family Name : Lathan: Birth Country : United States: Birth Sign : Virgo : Height : 5 Feet 7 Inch: Name: Sanaa Lathan: Alien vs. What kind of fool drops out of Harvard Law School? For me, I cant go any further without just talking about Sanaa Lathan, who I absolutely love. In 2018, her net worth was estimated at$4 million. And I remember, with Love & Basketball, Love and Happiness by Al Green playing even before the first shot was up on the screen. Sanaa Lathan biography with personal life (affair, boyfriend , Lesbian), married info . Im gonna be the first girl in the NBA, she says. According to her, she has one of the tastiest recipes for macaroni and cheese because that is her grandmothers. Tamani: For Monica, its like with her choosing herself over Quincy. And the fact that she was female and that she was Black and I wasnt using words like representation or feminism back then, but its like, you feel the energy just the same. The On Being Project is located on Dakota land. So it is very important to me that my daughter not have that fear. Featured Image by Gage Skidmore / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0. Actress Sanaa Lathan is a show stopper and head turner that has fans swooning over a pic of her in a nearly nude swimsuit. Some of the richest actresses like Sanaa Lathan have a classy lifestyle. Fifteen years ago on Tuesday, Love & Basketball debuted in theaters. Percy: I think its the connection to yourself that youre describing, right? I would always get to the last step and they would throw in another basketball player, she said. And I was starting to get this terrifying sense that if I stayed in law school, I could get trapped in her the rest of my life. Tamani: I would say, now that Im a writer, I have an appreciation for Gina Prince-Bythewood as an artist, as a storyteller. I was miserable. Through her social media, Sanaa has done endorsement work for several brands such as . Percy: And thats one of the things that even watching this movie now I struggle with, and Im so glad that the message that comes out of it is that you are beautiful, if youre wearing your hair up in a ponytail and youre wearing a basketball uniform you dont have to be made up. Here's everything you need to know, Jesus Ortiz Paz's parents, net worth, wife, and daughter, 20 female celebrities with black hair to follow in 2023, Germany hopes to help climate with discount travel card, 'Super Mario' is year's first film to pass $1 bn globally, Muigai Wa Njoroge's 2 Beautiful Wives Steal Show at Hubby's Event, JPMorgan to buy First Republic after regulators seize control. It took a while for that talent to take another big step, though not for a lack of trying, and it was eight years before her second feature, The Secret Life of Bees, put Prince-Bythewood back in our sights. Its important to be able to stand in the truth of yourself and to be able to fight for that, even when its unpopular or other people disagree with you. Does Sanaa Lathan have kids? But I hated this sanitized, diminished version of myself. SANAA LATHAN is a well-established American actress. But be prepared to leave it belonging a little more to yourself. The On Being Project She went straight to 7th grade after she completed her 5th grade. Throughout the movie, its song after song. Help us change more lives, join TUKO.co.kes Patreon programme. You gonna try to work on where you want to go? No, its very powerful. Tamani: Exactly. | Sanaa attended Beverly Hills High School for her basic education before joining Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics. Sanaa Lathan is opening up about her miserable experience working on Love & Basketball considered one of the best sports rom-coms ever. Her second affair was with Omar Epps, an actor, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. They were giving the basketball player acting coaches. Percy: because this movies set in the mid-90s. However, that was very difficult to do, so while they worked hard to find basketball players who could possibly play Monica, they kept Sanaa around because they liked her reading of the part. Percy: And shes new to the neighborhood; they just moved there. I can laugh about it now, said Lathan. An American Football wide receiver, Owens is one of Lathan's boyfriend. Check out this article to know more about her age, height, net worth, children, marriage and career. They were like, OK, cool. | Despite being in many relationships, Lathan is still single. Be the first to get hottest news from our Editor-in-Chief, Check your email and confirm your subscription. Percy: I love that. The siblings are Tendaji Lathan, Colette Lathan, Lilane Lathan, and Arielle Lathan. No, in life, in real life for most of us, its just putting one foot in front of the other and taking one step and then another toward the things you love, in the direction of the things you love. If I had been an actress who hadnt really done a lot, just a couple of acting classes, I would have probably been terrified. They want her! Tamani: Yeah, because you can certainly lose the connection to yourself, when things get out of whack, for sure. I wasnt thinking about any of that. And I wonder how Prince-Bythewoods filmmaking changed. With The Old Guard, she became the first Black woman to direct a big comic-book movie. Sanaa Lathan is opening up about her miserable experience working on Love & Basketballconsidered one of the best sports rom-coms ever. Though most people who watch Love and Basketball see it as the role that made Sanaa Lathan a star, looking back at it now, 19 years after the films release, the As an actor, she does this for me in every role that she takes on even when the movies arent very good, shes still fantastic. Special thanks to Grace J. Kim, who created the beautiful artwork for all of our episodes this season. Im Lily Percy. It was a big deal for her, and nobody knows me then, really. Producers of the film also wanted a real basketball player to play the female lead. Tamani: Oh, Tupac, the jokes, the outfits, the language all of that, and just seeing people who looked like me loved, being loved, and loving other people up on the big screen its a big deal. I taught dance, which was, whoo! And at the time, I wouldnt even have articulated it like that; I just knew that I was way more than sad. She wasnt auditioning a lot of actresses. But the gray gloominess that hung over New England was becoming hard to distinguish from the gloom I felt in myself. Though most people who watchLove and Basketballsee it as the role that made Sanaa Lathan a star, looking back at it now, 19 years after the films release, the 47-year-old actress said shooting the project was a miserable experience. And I was starting to get this terrifying sense that if I stayed in law school, I could get trapped in her the rest of my life.. Through her fathers encouragement to perfect on acting on the Los Angeles stage, Sanaa bagged television roles in episodes of shows such as In the House, Family Matters, NYPD Blue, and Moesha. I can laugh about it now, she said. Fifteen years ago on Tuesday, Love & Basketball debuted in theaters. And really, this could go on forever, because much like yourself, I love the movie. Were gonna do what you need, she says, No. Its like: Me, or basketball, which is what he was asking her at the time. But I knew I could do the role, she said. The role for me was easy. And its funny, because I think that shaped me in so many ways, and so Im the very opposite with my daughter. Percy: But that was also kind of radical, because when I watch it now Im like, this dude he was being set up to play in the NBA, and he actually ends up leaving college to go play for the Lakers. We had other Black love movies at the time, like Love Jones and even Brown Sugar. Her first name Sanaa is pronounced as Sa-NAA just as Sinatra would be pronounced with missing tra. And now, re-watching it preparing to talk to you, I realized that, as you said so beautifully, Gina Prince-Bythewood, she was telling us, This is actually what the story is about. Lathan later dated high-profile men, including: Jessica Tarlov: husband, family, nationality, books, Fox News. And, depending on how things pan out, it might be the top recruiting class in the nation. Sanaa had been exposed to celebrities and entertainment since her childhood years as both her parents are well-known in the entertainment industry. I wasnt Sanaa Lathan, I was just some actress and I could feel them being like, Why did this bh get the part? In the grassy patch between their bedroom windows, he reaches for a congratulatory hug, but Monica takes a kiss. Co-stars have been best friends for a long time Its been years since Ive seen Love & Basketball, and Im eager to revisit it. For the record, while she initially wasnt crazy about Gina while shootingLove and Basketball, she considers her like family now and is grateful to have been a part of her classic film. Tamani: So good. Percy: You write about it in that same essay for Time. When the movie was released a few months later, the New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell voiced quibbles but largely admired it and especially Lathan. Was sanaa lathan ever married? And even seeing this movie, theres the way in which she always knew she wanted to be a basketball player. Become TUKO.co.ke ambassador get a branded T-shirt, hoodie or water bottle at our TUKO Shop! Thats freedom. Not easy but possible.. Prince-Bythewood: We'd go back and forth on the lot. And Sanaa looked great in the movie and she could do things really well, like dribbling [two] basketballs at the same time. Lathan: That two-ball scene that I'm in -- one of my bones to pick with Gina is that she put it in a silhouette. And because of that people don't think it's really me. I went to church. And each scene unfolds the movie opens up and the kids are there, and she walks over and wants to play ball with her neighbors. It was like she was showing me parts of myself Id forgotten about, ignored or maybe never knew were there. And I absolutely love love, love, love that that film begs that question, that it asks that question of me. The "Love and Basketball" star. Tamani: Yeah what I was not ready for was the gem hiding inside of that romance. Official Sites Karim Kharbouch, better known as French Montana is one of Lathan's boyfriend who is an American rapper. But then, who is gonna drop out of law school? She realized watching it that this wasnt what was right for her that she had to listen to herself, to listen to what her body was telling her, and to change her career. Tamani: And thats a part of her strength. But a few days later, Monica gets a letter from USC. Shes worked steadily since, honing her craft and affirming her talent with movies like Beyond the Lights (2014) and the limited series Shots Fired (2017). But as a baller herself she balled, growing up she was sharing her own truth with that movie, which is a beautiful . Im just curious how youve both grown together, you and Love & Basketball. I also grew up in the church, and that was my experience, as well. However, she got through it all by totally mastering Monica when it came to the actual acting. It rings that way, yes. And it was my first time being in that place, a place I didnt know really how to name, but I felt a deep darkness.