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I N T R O D U C I N G

Sanaa Lathan

BY: Deidra L. Fryer | deidrafryer@yahoo.com [IMDb Mini Biography]

Sanaa Lathan, pronounced Sa-NAA, "like Sinatra without the tra", was born on September 19, 1971, in New York, as her actress mother Eleanor McCoy performed on Broadway with the likes of Eartha Kitt, and her director father Stan Lathan worked behind the scenes in television for PBS. She was exposed to the life of entertainment and stars at a very early age, which had a profound impact upon her life. As a child, she was nurtured in athletics and the arts, through training in Gymnastics and Dance. She later became a product of divorced parents, whom she remained closely connected to, by being shuttled to live between them, both, in New York and Los Angeles. Those loving, supportive parents, the extremes of the public schools of New York City and the riches of the 90210 Beverly Hills High, served to build, within Sanaa, a humble spirit, a competitive nature, and a full awareness of self. Being academically competitive and wanting to attain proficiency to become a successful professional, Sanaa began her college matriculation, attending the University of California at Berkeley in the liberal arts division, studying English. While an undergraduate, she continued to nurture the latent desire to express herself through the arts by performing with the "Black Theatre Workshop". Nearing the end of her college days with thoughts of what her next move would be, Sanaa considered the natural progression of an English major to law school, but her fate was sealed as she was encouraged to apply to the Masters program at the Yale School of Drama by a recruiter. Through the three years of the training and skill attainment that Yale provided, Sanaa was able to visualize how she could effectively combine her talents, giftedness and intelligence to express herself through this powerfully expressive art form called acting. She gained a love for the stage and the drama greats, like William Shakespeare, by performing in school productions such as "Othello", "Romeo and Juliet", "The Winter's Tale" and "Twelfth Night". Loved, admired and supported by her family, friends, fellow actors and fans, in addition to possessing that natural beauty, intelligence and gifted talent, Sanaa has the potential to sail over and above the ranks of other prominent stars. With limited-yet-growing roles or opportunities for African-Americans, in general, in film and women specifically, Sanaa is expected to break the barriers and forge her way into film history at an unprecedented and uninhibited style, both before and behind the camera, in the business. The name Sanaa means both "work of art" and "beauty" in Swahili -- how appropriate the name.