And the actor was as much a staple of the time as she was a cultural icon.
As a child, Nia Long strived for success
Nia Long was born in Brooklyn in 1970.
Two years later, her family moved to Iowa, where she faced racist abuse.
She was bullied by the white children, who chased her home and hurled racist slurs.
“Those things really happened,” she said.
I knew how to handle myself."
Since she was a child, Long exhibited a highly ambitious streak.
Subsequently, she began acting in plays before scoring her first role via Disney’s “The B.R.A.T.
Patrol” in 1986.
In an interview withYahoo!
“Those were good old days… She spoke fondly of her co-star and friend, Smith, whom she described as a perpetually happy sneakerhead.
Chatting toBustle, she said that the show was ultimately the catalyst for her present day fame.
She played Brandi, the levelheaded and supportive girlfriend of protagonist Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.).
While the role remains one of her most famous, it almost didn’t materialize.
“I was like, ‘I can’t,'” she told Yahoo!
That’s what I thought.
I’m gonna be totally transparent.
And my agent was like, ‘No, you have to go.'”
In an otherwise lukewarm review of the film, theAustin Chroniclepraised Long as a standout rising star.
She had all too often been cast as the supportive girlfriend or the passive goody-two-shoes.
Incidentally, Long had previously praised Spike for opening doors for Black filmmakers in Hollywood.
“She chose herself,” she mused.
“Which is a lesson I had to learn big time in my life.”
Long was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for her performance.
However, she said that she was determined to have a varied and eclectic acting career.
“Not that anything I’ve done is perfect but someone who’s a little bit lost.
Just a darker character.”
The substantial role was the welcome change she had been so eagerly anticipating.
Speaking toEntertainment Weekly, she admitted that she had hitherto felt stagnant as an artist.
“I was the It Girl,” she said.
“If there was a black girl in an urban film, that was my job.
… [Y]ou want to be challenged.
Eventually, however, the gritty themes of the show led to Long desiring some escapism.
Nia Long was one such star who faced racist discrimination, in turn losing out on profitable parts.
“Personally, that’s what I think.
Because if you notice there were no brown skin [actors].
I mean, honestly, I would have been the blackest thing in the film.”
Elaborating on the incident in her sit-down with Yahoo!
In 2011, she and her partner, former Celtics basketball coach Ime Udoka, welcomed their son Kez.
The pregnancy was unplanned, with Long being both stunned and elated by the news.
“I was supposed to go to Ghana to do a film … “I almost fainted.
It was the best moment and the sweetest surprise ever.”
“Society tells us ‘Get married before 30,'” she said.
In her interview with The Cut, she sought to dispel myths about becoming a mother later in life.
“When it happened, it was pretty exciting,” she revealed.
“I think we should talk about it.”
Long was cast as Key’s wife, a role that, while fleeting, she nevertheless relished.
“When the opportunity came along I said, ‘Yes,’ immediately,” she enthused.
“It was a no brainer for me.
I told them, ‘If you want me, you have me.’
I never looked at it as a job it was more like play time.”
In particular, she welcomed the opportunity to improvise lines with Key, and the freedom the performance entailed.
“She was perfect for the part,” Key said.
“She was in so many films that were important to our lives.
Udoka, who acknowledged that the affair was wrong but nonetheless consensual, was suspended following the scandal.
Accordingly, she called out Celtics for their apparent callousness.
“It was devastating, and it still is.
It’s very disappointing.”
“I would like to just have an experience that’s pleasant.
… Malcolm X said the least protected person in America is the Black woman.
That quote resonates big time in my life right now.”
“I think it’s long overdue.
It’s a contemporary story.
There’s a lot of side-eyes.”
And now, I think I’m there.”
In doing so, she’s afforded herself some much needed respite.
“For the last 22 years, I’ve been pouring out,” she told The Cut.
“But at a certain point, you’re like, Woo, I’m looking a little tired…
