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Sanaa Lathan: 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me (My Audition for ‘Love and Basketball’ Was Almost Five Months Long) (Exclusive)

Sanaa-Lathan
Sanaa Lathan attends the 2018 Inspiration Awards Benefiting Step Up on June 1, 2018.Sara De Boer/startraksphoto.com

Sanaa Lathan, starring as a principal on The Affair, gives Us a lesson on herself. Read on to learn 25 things about the actress.

1. I take my incense everywhere. The scent makes me feel like I’m home away from home.

2. I do Transcendental Meditation for 20 minutes, twice a day.

3. I take regular breaks from social media. Who knows what all that noise is doing to our brains in the long run!

4. The majority of the food I eat is vegan, but every now and then I’ll have fish.

5. I shaved my head for Nappily Ever After. It was terrifying and cathartic. I wound up loving it so much, I kept shaving it for a while.

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Love & Basketball
Love & Basketball New Line Cinema

6. On The Affair, it’s the first time I’ve worn my own hair for a role since Love & Basketball.

7. My audition for Love & Basketball was almost five months long. I had to do acting as well as basketball auditions.

8. I had never picked up a basketball before, so it was pretty grueling.

9. I love The Affair. First time I’ve worked on a production where the majority of the show runners and writers are women. Pretty awesome.

10. I’ve done a ton of love scenes in my career and, nope, they never get easier.

11. I’m a dog lover. Sometimes I like them more than people.

12. I have the best recipe for macaroni and cheese that you’ll ever taste. It’s my grandmother’s.

Related: Beauty of the Day: 5 Secrets of Sanaa Lathan’s Style

13. I have a soft spot in my heart for Jamaica. I love everything about it.

14. I met Bob Marley when I was 5.

15. Prince personally invited me and some friends to a private dinner before one of his concerts. Every song we loved, he wound up playing, even adding my name to one of them. And he invited us onstage. Best night ever.

16. When I was in the third grade, I lived in my roller skates and roller-skated every day.

17. I skipped the sixth grade.

18. I got to do Shakespeare in the Park in NYC one summer. I played Isabella, the virgin nun in Measure for Measure.

19. I love London and always miss the Indian food.

20. I pour Raisinets in my popcorn. The salty-sweet combination is to die for!

Related: Sanaa Lathan: What’s in My Bag?

21. If I could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, it would be James Baldwin. He was such a brilliant mind.

22. I use coconut oil for everything. Hair, skin, makeup remover and cooking.

23. I kinda love reality TV — especially The Real Housewives.

24. I started the Sanaa Lathan Foundation. We support and partner with organizations making a difference for underserved youth so they can have a positive future.

25. I believe that everyone should do their part to leave this world a better place.

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