Photo credit: Robert John Kley
Tatyana Ali came to fame as Will Smith’s pretty little cousin, Ashley Banks, on “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”, and is now about to star in the TV One comedy “Love That Girl!” She was been busy acting, singing and earning a degree in Anthropolgy from Harvard in between the two, but not too busy to take some time for a Fitzness interview. Tatyana is a genuine sweetie with a good head on her shoulders who was even honest enough to reveal her size. Gotta love that girl!
Fitz: You’re working on another ensemble cast again, similar to that of Fresh Prince. How does it feel to be back in that environment?
Tatyana: I love it! I was really spoiled on Fresh Prince, because we all really liked each other and had great chemistry as a group. I feel the same thing with “Love That Girl!” The writers are hysterical, they’ve written for all of your favorite shows. The actors are amazing, and we have a great feeling knowing that we’re doing something that’s going to make people happy and make people laugh.
Fitz: When you worked with Will Smith long ago, he was just starting out. Could you ever have fathomed that one day he’d be such a blockbuster movie star?
Tatyana: You know what? It’s not really that surprising. He’s the type of guy, even back then, that when he walks in to a room … every body notices and everyone feels really good. He also works incredibly hard. He takes his work very seriously and just works so hard! It’s still amazing, but most people who know him probably aren’t really surprised.
Fitz: You’ve grown up quite beautifully and are in really great shape too. How do you stay fit?
Tatyana: Thank you! I get up every morning at 6 AM to do a Spinning Boot Camp (spinning class with 30 minutes of strength training at the end), and I love it! I love it so much. The thing that helps me is that I love to dance; I dance around my house all the time. So spinning with the music makes me forget I’m even working out. I feel like I’m dancing instead. In fact, at six o’clock in the morning I kind of don’t know what I’m doing any way. I sing along to the songs and it’s just so much fun!
Fitz: Tell me about your eating habits.
Tatyana: I do best when I stay away from bread and cheese!
Fitz: Are you good at avoid the bread and cheese?
Tatyana: I do give myself some leeway, so I don’t struggle too much. But I’m fairly good at it.
Photo credit: Kate sZatmari Photography
Fitz: Do you ever struggle with pressure from the industry to be thinner or change your appearance?
Tatyana: I’m not now, but I have in the past. I wouldn’t call myself one of the “skinny girls”, but I’m small. I’m 5’4″ and I wear a size 4; I’m small. But still, I was recently featured in a magazine in one of those “who wore it best” sections and I was called the “curvy girl”. It’s been a shift for me as I’ve become a little older and my body doesn’t do what it used to.
Fitz: How so?
Tatyana: Like all women, I’ve had to figure out what my body now responds to as far as exercise and eating go. It’s changed. I just want to be healthy and fit in to the clothes that I have. I don’t like feeling like a sausage stuffed in my jeans, because there have been times that I’ve felt like that. I love spinning though, it’s been good for my body and good for my mind too!
Fitz: Have any advice for other women working to get in better shape?
Tatyana: Be consistent! Just like everything else in life, consistency counts. Sometimes we want instant results and get frustrated because they’re not coming soon enough or we hit a plateau. If you keep exercising and keep eating right though, results will eventually come.
Fitz: Did you make a New Years Resolution this year?
Tatyana: I’m going to try and not worry as much as I do!
Fitz: That’s a great resolution – control the things you can, forget the things you can’t. Thanks Tatyana!
“Love That Girl!” premieres on January 10, and it marks Tatyana’s first regular television role since “Fresh Prince.” Tatyana also serves as a producer on the show along with executive producers Martin Lawrence, Bentley Kyle Evans (“Martin” and “The Jamie Foxx Show”), Jeff Franklin (“Full House”) and Raphael Saadiq (who also composes all of the original music for the show).
