Source: Frazer Harrison / Getty
has been a mainstay in Black pop culture for more than 30 years.
We were first introduced to Sanaa Lathan with parts in shows like
NYPD Blue and
Moesha, but she got her first big break in 1998’s hit movie
Blade. That role launched her to new stardom and helped her nab roles in
Love & Basketball,
Brown Sugar, and of course,
The Best Man.
Recently she decided to step behind the camera and make her directorial debut with,
On The Come Up, her 2022 film about a teenage girl who follows her dream of becoming a massive rap star.
We spoke to Lathan about taking on a new role in filmmaking last year, revealing how she decided this would be her first film as a director.
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“It was not a conscious decision to pick this one. It came through my agents. I had a really good agent who pitched me, and he knew about my musical background. My mother was a dancer, and my dad [is a filmmaker],”
Lathan told Cassius. “We grew up in New York City around hip-hop and hip-hop culture, and I fell in love with it once I read the script.”
But when Lathan isn’t staring in cult classic feel-good films, she’s been acknowledged for aging gracefully while taking on Hollywood since the 1990s.
Even now, at 51, Sanaa Lathan has remained a crush for several generations. Check out some of her most beautiful Instagram moments below.
