Sanaa McCoy Lathan was born in New York in 1971 September 19, to Eleanor McCoy and Stan Lathan. Her name translated from Swahili is "work of art" and "shining light" in Arabic. Lathan is of African American and Native American descent. Her parents work at the television, mother was an actress and dancer and father worked for PBS channel as a producer on many shows. Sanaa also had a brother - Tendaji Lathan, he is a DJ and three sisters: Colette, Lilane, Arielle Lathan.
She studied at the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics. She graduated from the University of California, with a degree in English, then Sanaa attended Yale University with a degree in drama. After her studying at Yale and performed in a number of Shakespeare's plays, Lathan earned acclaim both off-Broadway and on the Los Angeles stage.
Working on acting career she make the Los Angeles a professional base and get roles in projects such as: “In the House”, “Family Matters”, “NYPD Blue”, “Moesha” etc. During her work she won NAACP Theatrical Award Committee for her performance in "To Take Arms".
Lathan earned a degree of recognition in the 1998 with her role as the mother of Wesley Snipes' title character in "Blade". Then she worked with a role in "Life with Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy" and other projects such as: "The Best Man" and "The Wood".
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 the HBO film, Lathan is cast as an aspiring singer and songwriter in "love with a carpenter". Lathan has acted in several roles in which her characters are involved in interracial relationships. In the 2001 she was named by Ebony magazine as one of its 55 Most Beautiful People and was honoured by Essence magazine and Black Entertainment Television.
In 2003, she starred with Denzel Washington in "Out of Time" movie. At the same year, she was cast in the lead role in "Alien vs. Predator", that brought to her success by grossing over $171 million worldwide. In 2006, she co-starred with Simon Baker in “Something New”. From 2009 to 2013, she voiced the character Donna Tubbs on “The Cleveland Show”. In 2011, Lathan co-starred in the Steven Soderbergh thriller “Contagion”.
Lathan best known for roles in movies like: Miracle in the Woods, Blade, The Wood, The Best Man, Catfish in Black Bean Sauce, Life, Love & Basketball, Brown Sugar, Out of Time, Alien vs. Predator, The Family That Preys, Wonderful World, The Best Man Holiday, The Perfect Guy, Approaching the Unknown, Now You See Me 2, The Best Man Wedding and for roles in some shows: In the House, Family Matters, NYPD Blue, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, Tilda, Real Husbands of Hollywood.
Sanaa Lathan has a net worth of $4 million. Sanaa Lathan was previously married to Shemar Moore, they had married in the 1985 (she was in age 14), but divorced in the 1996. Sanaa doesn’t have a baby.
| Birth Date: | 19 Sep, 1971 |
| Age: | 48 yrs |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | New York City |
| Education: | University of California, Berkeley Yale School of Drama |
| Gender: | Female |
| Description: | American actress and voice actress |
| Net Worth 2021: | 5 million |
