Image of Sanaa Lathan

Sanaa Lathan

Sanaa McCoy Lathan was born in New York City on September 19, 1971. She attended Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in English. Lathan contemplated a career in law, but instead enrolled at the Yale School of Drama. Following her training at Yale, she performed in a number of Shakespeare's plays and earned acclaim both off-Broadway and on the Los Angeles stage. She later found early television roles on episodes of such shows as In the House, Family Matters, NYPD Blue, and Moesha. During that same period, she was awarded Best Actress from the Los Angeles NAACP Theatrical Award Committee for her performance in To Take Arms. In 1998, Lathan starred as the mother of Wesley Snipes' title character in Blade. She followed with a role in Life and back-to-back turns in and The Wood and The Best Man for which Lathan received a NAACP Image Award nomination. She was then cast as the love interest of Omar Epps in Prince-Bythewood's Love & Basketball. Her performance in Love & Basketball earned her the 2001 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, as well as an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress and a BET Award. In 2001, Lathan earned additional acclaim for her work in the multicultural comedy Catfish in Black Bean Sauce. Next was her second collaboration with Prince-Bythewood: Disappearing Acts; which was based on a novel by Terry McMillan. For her work in the film, Lathan earned an Essence Award for Best Actress. That year, she was named by Ebony magazine as one of its 55 Most Beautiful People. In 2002, Lathan starred in the romantic comedy, Brown Sugar. Lathan’s performance earned a NAACP Image Award Nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture. The film also received a NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Motion Picture. In 2004, Lathan starred on Broadway in A Raisin in the Sun with Sean Combs, Audra McDonald, and Phylicia Rashad. Lathan received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress for her portrayal of Beneatha Younger. Several years later, Lathan reprised the role in a critically acclaimed ABC Network production of A Raisin in the Sun. Lathan subsequently starred in several major Hollywood films, including Alien vs. Predator, which was Lathan's biggest role to date. Alien vs. Predator was a major success grossing over $171 million worldwide. Out of Time was also an important role for Lathan as she played the plot-twist antagonist, sharing the screen with Denzel Washington. In 2006, Lathan co-starred with Simon Baker in Something New, a romantic comedy about an interracial relationship. Lathan appeared in a recurring role as Michelle Landau in another interracial relationship as the much younger wife of a Texas businessman (Larry Hagman) during the fourth season of the television series, Nip/Tuck. Lathan played Andrea in Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys in 2008. In 2009, Lathan co-starred with Matthew Broderick in the drama Wonderful World. She also began voicing the character Donna Tubbs on The Cleveland Show. Retuning back to the stage in 2010 she starred in the all-black performance of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Novello Theatre in London. Lathan’s next role is in the Stephen Soderbergh thriller Contagion (2011) where she stars alongside Matt Damon, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne.


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Born:
Sep 19, 1971 In New York City, New York, USA
Movie/TV Credits:
39
First Appeared:
In the movie The Supremes At Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat
Latest Project:
Movie On the Come Up 2022-09-23
Known For
Poster of Boss
Poster of A Raisin in the Sun
Poster of LateLine
Filmography
Movie The Supremes At Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat 2025
Movie On the Come Up Jay 2022-09-23
Series Hit & Run Naomi Hicks 2021-08-06
Movie Native Son Trudy Thomas 2019-01-24
Movie Nappily Ever After Violet Jones 2018-09-21
Movie American Assassin Irene Kennedy 2017-09-14
Series Shots Fired Ashe Akino 2017-03-22
Movie Now You See Me 2 Deputy Director Natalie Austin 2016-06-02
Movie Approaching the Unknown Captain Emily Maddox 2016-06-03
Movie The Perfect Guy Leah Vaughn 2015-09-11
Series The Affair Jenelle Wilson 2014-10-12
Movie Repentance Maggie 2014-02-28
Movie The Best Man Holiday Robyn 2013-11-15
Movie Contagion Aubrey Cheever 2011-09-08
Series Boss Mona Fredricks 2011-10-21
Movie Wonderful World Khadi 2009-01-08
Movie Powder Blue Diana 2009-05-08
Series The Cleveland Show Donna Tubbs (voice) 2009-09-27
Movie A Raisin in the Sun Beneatha Younger 2008-02-25
Movie The Family That Preys Andrea 2008-09-12
Movie Something New Kenya McQueen 2006-01-29
Movie AVP: Alien vs. Predator Alexa Woods 2004-08-12
Movie Out of Time Ann Merai Harrison 2003-10-03
Series Nip/Tuck Unknown 2003-07-22
Movie Brown Sugar Sidney 'Sid' Shaw 2002-10-05
Movie Disappearing Acts Zora Banks 2000-12-09
Movie Love & Basketball Monica Wright 2000-04-21
Movie Life Daisy 1999-04-16
Movie Catfish in Black Bean Sauce Nina 1999-04-14
Movie The Wood Alicia 1999-07-16
Movie The Best Man Robyn 1999-10-22
Series LateLine Briana Gilliam 1998-03-17
Movie Blade Vanessa Brooks 1998-08-21
Movie Drive Carolyn Brody 1997-08-06
Series Built to Last Linda 1997-09-24
Movie Miracle in the Woods Young Lilly 1997-10-26
Series Moesha Unknown 1996-01-23
Series Late Night with Conan O'Brien Unknown 1993-09-13
Series Family Matters Unknown 1989-09-22