Sanaa Lathan is one of those Hollywood beauties that seems to always steal the scene in whatever film you see her in. Lathan’s acting career spans over two decades. She starred in classic films in the early 2000’s such as Love & Basketball, Disappearing Acts, The Best Man, Brown Sugar, and Something New.
Like many of us who are busy, taking time to focus on her well-being gives Sanaa the energy and emotional wherewithal to carry out important projects. It’s something that her dad, Hollywood director and producer, Stan Lathan, taught her: invest in herself. One example of this was in her Netflix movie Nappily Ever After. It’s a story about a woman whose self-esteem is tied to men. Eventually, her character realizes she needs to determine her own worth and, in a declaration of independence, cuts off her long hair—something Sanaa decided to do in real life.
“It was kind of a perfect time in my life to do it,” mentions Lathan to Health Magazine. I have a lot of hair, and it’s thick. I was just so over it. If I got it straightened and then I worked out, it would go right back into the original—the Afro. And I couldn’t do braids for a week; they’d get frizzy. My girlfriends would even be like, “Why aren’t you doing anything with your hair? You look crazy!” So in terms of me being lazy, it’s just so easy. In terms of women of color coming into this amazing renaissance of owning who they are, and owning all of their beauty in whatever shape, size, color it is. There’s no more cookie-cutter, like, “This is the ideal.
“I literally have a list. If I’m doing [certain] things most days, I’m good,” explains the actress, 46-year-old. From working out in the morning to meditating twice a day to taking social media breaks, Sanaa has been cultivating these tricks since she first broke out in 2000’s Love & Basketball.
“Whatever comes up against you, you have tools,” she says.
As for what’s next for Lathan–she stays booked! The feature film adaptation of Richard Wright’s legendary book…
… Native Son, is in the works, and Sanaa has officially signed up to join the cast. Lathan will play Trudy Thomas, a widow who is doing her best to raise three children in a small and cramped but tidy Chicago apartment. When her new boyfriend helps arrange a job interview for her eldest son Bigger (Sanders) to work as a chauffeur for a local real estate magnate, a chain of events is triggered that will have devastating consequences for both families.
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