Helena Frye
In the 2000 film Love & Basketball, Sanaa Lathan, who was 29 at the time, played the role of Monica Wright, a basketball player in Los Angeles who harboured dreams of going pro. The film follows Monica and her next-door neighbour and childhood friend Quincy McCall (played by Omar Epps) as they pursue their respective basketball careers and eventually fall in love with each other.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the actress | Sanaa Lathan |
| Year of release of the movie Love & Basketball | 2000 |
| Date of birth of Sanaa Lathan | 19 September 1971 |
| Age of Sanaa Lathan in Love & Basketball | 28-29 years |
| Character played by Sanaa Lathan | Monica Wright |
| Name of the actor starring opposite Sanaa Lathan | Omar Epps |
| Character played by Omar Epps | Quincy McCall |
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What You'll Learn
Sanaa Lathan's age during filming
American actress Sanaa Lathan was born on September 19, 1971. She is the daughter of actress Eleanor McCoy and film director Stan Lathan. Her career began with appearances in shows like In the House, Family Matters, NYPD Blue, and Moesha.
Lathan starred in the 2000 film Love & Basketball, written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The film was released on April 21, 2000, in the United States. Therefore, Lathan was 28 years old during the filming of Love & Basketball.
In the film, Lathan played the role of Monica Wright, a basketball player in Los Angeles who falls in love with her next-door neighbour, Quincy McCall, played by Omar Epps. The story is divided into four quarters, each representing a different period in the lives of the protagonists. The first quarter takes place in 1981 when Monica and Quincy are children, and the final quarter is set in 1993, a few years before the establishment of the WNBA.
Lathan's performance in Love & Basketball earned her the 2001 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress, and a BET Award. Despite her success, Lathan admitted that she had a tough time filming the movie, questioning whether Prince-Bythewood wanted her to star in the film initially.
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Lathan's character, Monica Wright
In the 2000 American romantic sports drama film "Love & Basketball", Sanaa Lathan plays Monica Wright, a next-door neighbour and love interest of Quincy McCall (Omar Epps). The film, written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, follows the pair's relationship from childhood neighbours to confidants and companions.
Monica Wright is introduced as a child in 1981, where she and Quincy bond over their shared love for basketball. She proves to be an excellent player, beating Quincy in their first game of one-on-one. However, their friendship is threatened when Quincy knocks Monica down during a game, accidentally cutting her face. They reconcile and share their first kiss, but their relationship is complicated.
In the second quarter of the film, set in 1988, Monica and Quincy are attending Crenshaw High School. Quincy is a star basketball player, and Monica is the leader of the girls' basketball team. Quincy is popular and dates the prettiest girl in school, while Monica struggles to control her emotions on the court and harbours feelings for Quincy. Despite this, they become a couple after their high school prom.
The third quarter of the film begins when Monica and Quincy start college at the University of Southern California. Quincy is a promising player on the court, while Monica frequently clashes with her coach and struggles to get playing time. The pressures of their athletic and academic commitments, coupled with their deteriorating relationship, cause them to break up.
In the final quarter, set in 1993, Monica and Quincy are both professional basketball players. Monica plays for an International Women's Basketball Association (IWBA) team in Barcelona, while Quincy plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in his fifth year. After going through some changes and patching up their relationship, Wright and McCall get married after Lathan's character gets introduced as part of the starting lineup for the Sparks, wearing number 32.
The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise directed at Lathan's performance, Prince-Bythewood's direction and script, and the emotional weight of the film. It grossed $27.7 million worldwide on a production budget of $14-20 million. Over the years, the film has developed a dedicated following, cementing its place in popular culture and establishing itself as a cult classic. Lathan's performance earned her the 2001 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress, and a BET Award.
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The film's release and reception
On April 21, 2000, the romantic sports drama film "Love & Basketball" debuted in theatres across North America. The film, written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, stars Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps as next-door neighbours in Los Angeles with a shared passion for basketball. It follows their journey from childhood friends to star-crossed lovers as they pursue their basketball careers. Lathan was 28 or 29 years old during filming, as she was born on September 19, 1971.
The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances of Lathan and Epps, Prince-Bythewood's direction and script, and the emotional weight of the story. The Washington Post's film critic, Desson Thomson, described the film as having "moments of such tenderness and sophistication, complimented by such romantic dreaminess between lead performers Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan." The film also received acclaim from Linda Holmes of the NPR program "Pop Culture Happy Hour," who called it "one of [her] favourite movies of any kind, by anyone."
"Love & Basketball" grossed $3,176,000 on its first day and ended its North American opening weekend with $8,139,180, making it the second-highest-grossing film of the April 21–23, 2000, weekend. Worldwide, the film brought in $27.7 million on a production budget of $14–20 million. The film also spawned a successful soundtrack, which peaked at number 45 on the Billboard 200 and number 15 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Over the years since its release, "Love & Basketball" has developed a dedicated following, cementing its place in popular culture and achieving cult classic status. The film has been praised for its portrayal of multidimensional African American characters outside the ghetto and for its respectful and celebratory gaze towards its female lead. In 2015, The A.V. Club called it a "nearly perfect modern romantic drama," highlighting its focus on the protagonist Monica's coming-of-age story as a female athlete.
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Lathan's training for the role
Sanaa Lathan was 28 years old when she played the role of Monica Wright in the 2000 film Love & Basketball. Lathan's training for the role was intense and taxing on her body. She trained for three months, working out every day, to prepare for the basketball scenes in the film. Lathan had never played basketball before and had to develop her skills from scratch.
The film's writer and director, Gina Prince-Bythewood, wanted natural athletes in the lead roles. Bythewood, who played basketball in high school and ran track at UCLA, described the film as semi-autobiographical. Due to her personal connection to the heroine, she had extremely high expectations during casting. She wanted the actress playing Monica to be an athlete and preferably a basketball player.
Lathan's father, Stan Lathan, was concerned that the rigorous training was damaging his daughter, as she was training every day for three months with no guarantee of getting the part. Lathan pushed through, determined to develop her basketball skills for the role. Her hard work paid off, and she was ultimately cast as Monica.
Lathan's performance in Love & Basketball received acclaim, and she earned the 2001 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress, and a BET Award. The film also received positive reviews from critics, praising Lathan's performance, Bythewood's direction and script, and the emotional weight of the story.
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Lathan's feelings about filming
In a recent interview with CBS Los Angeles, Sanaa Lathan opened up about her experience filming Love & Basketball. The actress talked about the difficulty she had in the basketball movie, coming from a dance background and never having played the sport before. She said:
> I was miserable. I can laugh about it now. I got the job and I think Gina [Prince-Bythewood] finally got to the point where she had to hire somebody. It’s almost like she hired me because she couldn’t find somebody else. There wasn’t a lot of joy and there wasn’t a lot of trust in me. It was her baby and it was her first time directing. It was a big deal for her and nobody knew me then, really. She gets to the point where she makes this decision with me, but I felt like the default.
Lathan, who played Monica Wright in the film, further explained that the hardest challenge was getting the job, as director Gina Prince-Bythewood and the producers wanted a basketball player who could act, rather than an actress they could teach to play basketball. She added that she had to go through so much to get the part and that she was surrounded by real ballplayers in all the basketball scenes. She also had to train for five hours a day with an assistant coach for the LA Sparks before she got the job.
Despite the challenges, Lathan received critical acclaim for her role in Love & Basketball. She earned an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture in 2001, as well as nominations for Best Actress at the BET Awards and Independent Spirit Awards that same year.
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Frequently asked questions
Sanaa Lathan was 27 years old during the filming of "Love & Basketball", which was released in 2000.
Sanaa Lathan's character Monica Wright was 11 years old when she first fell for her next-door neighbour, Quincy.
Sanaa Lathan's character Monica Wright aspired to become the first woman to play in the NBA.
No, Sanaa Lathan did not enjoy filming "Love & Basketball". She described herself as miserable during that period of her life.
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