Remember Ashley, the TV cousin of Will Smith? This is Tatyana Ali today

If you were born in the 80s or before, you'll surely remember 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.' But do you remember this actress from the sitcom?

Images: @tatyanaali / Instagram and Getty

Will Smith was the big boss of the series, without a doubt. And Carlton and Uncle Phil played essential roles. But the women of Bel-Air were important too.

With the passing of the years and the seasons, Ashley's persona in the series gained relevance. She matured and had more to say with every scene.

Image: NBC

Tatyana Ali started filming at the age of 10 and finished at 17. The world watched her go from Will Smith's perky little cousin to a gorgeous teenager with a special talent for singing.

Ashley became a 90s' Hollywood crush. Along with characters like Kelly Kapowski, Shawn Hunter, Topanga Lawrence, and Brandon Walsh, she covered miles of teenage walls.

It's been 30 years since 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' and, like many of her peers, Tatyana Ali has all but disappeared from TV.

The actress seems to have changed her look only a little. What is she doing now?

If we go all the way back in time, we can tell you that Tatyana Ali already had a tremendous career behind her, as an actress and as a singer, before she went on 'The Fresh Prince'.

The child actress appeared in shows like 'Sesame Street' and she also won 'Star Search' twice when she was only five years old.

Obviously, her fame at a global level came from the Banks family in Bel Air.

For 148 episodes, she gave life to Ashley Banks, the youngest member of the family until (the often forgotten) baby Nicky arrived.

Image: NBC

In 1996, when the end of the series was announced, Tatyana Ali opted for the musical path.

The actress had shown her talent in several episodes, singing great songs like 'Respect' by Aretha Franklin, as well as her own song, 'Make up your Mind.'

Tatyana Ali aimed to dominate the R&B scene of the new century. Her first and only studio album, 'Kiss the Sky', went gold in 1999.

Songs like 'Boy you knock me out,' 'Everytime,' and 'Daydream' got worldwide airplay. Yet, she wouldn't make it to the level of Beyoncé or Rihanna.

Meanwhile, she continued working in TV and film. She has accumulated more than 60 credits as an actress. Of course, all of them are less famous than the role of cousin Ashley.

Image: a scene from the movie 'Brother' (2000)

Ali's moment of greatest visibility came in 2008, when she publicly supported Barack Obama's candidacy for US President.

She participated in the song 'Yes we can', produced by Will.i.am.

Obviously, the reunion of 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,' to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its premiere, transcended the Obama moment.

The special episode of 'The Prince of Bel-Air', produced by HBO Max, was one of the big showbiz events of 2020. Especially since the two aunt Vivians, Ashley's mothers in the series, appeared together in that special.

On a personal level, the actress had a relationship with Jonathan Brandis that ended at the same time as 'The Prince of Bel-Air', in 1996.

Twenty years later, Tatyana Ali married Dr. Vaughn Raspberry, a professor at Stanford University.

The couple met through the well-known dating app eHarmony. The wedding took place in July 2016 and just two months later, their first child, Edward Aszard, was born.

In August 2019, the couple's second son, Alejandro, arrived. Tatyana shares pictures of her children on social media now and then.

Among Tatyana Ali's recent works is a series of Christmas TV Movies for Lifetime: 'Christmas Hotel', 'My best wish for Christmas', 'Jingle Belle,' and 'Christmas Everlasting.'

Image: Lifetime

On top of that, Ali is in Peacock's spin-off series 'Bel-Air.' She plays an English teacher at Bel-Air middle school who takes an interest in supporting one of her young students... Ashley Banks! The student is now played by Akira Akbar.