Tamala Jones Biography

TAMALA JONES

Date of Birth: November 12, 1974

This native to Pasadena, California has always been interested in acting, and practiced at home imitating characters she saw on television. While she was growing up, her family encouraged her to study ballet, violin, piano and cello, but she ended up quitting halfway through learning the crafts. At school she studied to become a psychiatrist.

"I had just started taking acting in high school and would do acting classes on weekends," explains Jones. "And, one of them on the weekend, I met my first agent and from her, I booked jobs." By age 15, she landed her first national commercial. Four years later she started working on television series like Dangerous Minds and guest-starred on ER, My So-Called Life and JAG.

In 1997, Jones started getting larger roles in feature films like Booty Call, Can't Hardly Wait and Blue Streak. With a powerful co-starring performance in The Wood playing Tanya, Jones began being offered more roles in bigger budgeted films like Next Friday, The Ladies Man and Kingdom Come.

"As an actor I wanna do a movie that is so good that it's a classic and that when you get through seeing it, you're gonna say, she deserves an Academy Award. I wanna earn an Academy Award."

Inspired by her grandmother who is a foster parent, Jones spends time and energy with The Rosemary Children Foundation, which is a charity for foster children. Other interests include writing, horseback riding and recording music.

Filmography:

Show Stoppers (2008)
Thug Passion (2007)
American Dream (2007)
Daddy Day Camp (2007)
Who's Your Caddy? (2007)
What Love Is (2007)
Confessions (2006)
Head of State (2003)
On the Line (2001)
Two Can Play That Game (2001)
Kingdom Come (2001)
The Brothers (2001)
The Ladies Man (2000)
How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog (2000)
Turn It Up (2000)
Next Friday (2000)
Blue Streak (1999)
Wood, The (1999)
Can't Hardly Wait (1998)
Booty Call (1997)
How to Make an American Quilt (1995)