Most of us grew up alongside Tatyana Ali as she played young Ashley Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1990 to 1996. We watched her crazy dances, her daring fashion choices, and laughed at her jokes while the show delivered important lessons on life and coming of age. Ali seems to have carried those same lessons into her real life. At 47, she’s actively busy.
Recently, Ali marked Spirit Day with GLAAD, posting a selfie in a lavender suit, necklace, and hair pulled back. She looks pretty much like the same young woman we grew up with, except for the grey strands of hair. But that’s clearly a choice. She wants everyone to know that this is the older and wiser version. So, when a fan wrote that she “looked very presidential in this pic,” Ali replied, “definitely looks like I’m running for office.”
When The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air wrapped in 1996, as Will Smith’s career was taking off, Ali stepped back and began to live a normal life – you know, school and earning a degree from Harvard. She didn’t vanish from Hollywood either. She kept working and showed up in plenty of films and shows over the years, including 1999 cult favorite Jawbreaker.
In fact, Ali was still in high school at the time and dealt with bullying from another actress on set. She shared the story online, writing, “I was the only one actually in high school when we shot this, and I dealt with a little bullying on set from one actress in particular… and @rosemcgowan told her to [shut up] in front of everybody! I will always love her for that!” McGowan, of course, backed her up in the comments with, “❤️ I’d do it again ❤️.”
In March 2025, Ali reunited with her co-star Will Smith, the Fresh Prince himself, in a viral dance trend set to Doechii’s “Anxiety.” The throwback moment was meant to mirror The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air pilot episode, where the two danced together. It was welcomed nostalgia for fans.
But these days, Tatyana Ali spends her time a little differently. Motherhood has shifted her whole life around. She shares sons Edward Aszard Rasberry, 9, and Alejandro Vaughn Rasberry, 7, with her husband, Dr. Vaughn Rasberry. After a traumatic first birth and time in the NICU, she found community through Black Mamas Matter Alliance and comfort in sewing.
The experience led to her starting Baby Yams. “My son ended up in the NICU for four days because of what happened in the hospital,” she told First For Women. She recently launched the brand with 50 handmade blankets using fabric sourced from Ghana. They sold out almost immediately, and Ali donated every cent from the profits to help train midwives and doulas.
Tatyana Ali turned 47 in 2026. And while that might make many of us go, “Where has the time gone?”, she’s still the beautiful Ashley Banks we all watched and maybe crushed on. She celebrated the big 47 in a parking garage, asking, “47 looks good on me, doesn’t it?” At the same time, Ali also announced her kids’ book, Aszi and the Octopus, published by Scholastic.
She’s been busy. Ashley Banks has grown up. And to answer her question: Yes, 47 does look good on her.
