Nia Long, 42, is looking no-nonsense in all black on the latest issue of Jet magazine. The mother of two talks about practically raising her children on her own as her boyfriend of three years, former pro-baller Ime Udoka, currently lives in another state.
"Ime and I are very much a family. We're both committed to being good to each other and being great parents. He operates on faith, and we share that. If not, it would be difficult to maintain with him working as a coach in San Antonio. The challenge is the times when I'm exhausted and here with the kids by myself. I have homework, bath time, dinner, laundry and all the other things that every mother has to do because, in essence, I'm physically a part-time single mom."
Not only is she a part-time single mom, she's also working her butt off in the business. Long is reprising her role as Jordan in The Best Man sequel, The Best Man Holiday, which starts filming in Toronto in April. And although the actress says being a pediatrician was her first dream career, she's been lucky to find success in a rather unstable industry.
"Actors only have job security from the time we’re on set until they say cut. But, deep down inside I knew it would work out for me. Luckily, I was also naive. What’s the saying? Ignorance is bliss. I had a wonderful acting coach who didn’t focus on failure, only working."
Jet's April issue will hit newsstands March 18.
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(Photo: courtesy Jet Magazine)