Asha Kamali

"Protective Spirit of Life" is the meaning of her Swahili name. Asha Kamali is the 2015 female winner of the American Black Film Festival/ NBC Star Project. She is the co-founder of Howardwood, a non-profit day of workshops at Howard University that supports students interested in careers in entertainment. Most recently sponsored by CBS, Howardwood is in its eighth year. Previous sponsors include BET, DreamWorks, FOX, and NBC Universal. Asha is a recurring guest star opposite Keke Palmer ("Gigi Nixon") on FOX's STAR, a music-themed drama co-created and executive produced by Lee Daniels and Tom Donaghy. Her character is "Aunt Missy," the fabulous overbearing aunt, queen bee manager, and founding member of Gigi's famtourage (family/entourage). In the digital landscape, Asha stars as "Nia" alongside Debbie Allen, Lance Gross and Boris Kodjoe in the digital series Milk + Honey. As the co-creator and writer, the digital series is produced with her producing partners collectively-known as, Brown Paper Dolls. The digital series received an eight-season pick up by Reign, a premium ad-supported and subscription streaming video-on-demand service set to launch in 2019. Her other credits include Freeform's Stitchers, and numerous stage productions and independent films. An alumna of Howard University and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Asha is a former "Miss Howard University." After undergraduate commencement, she began her career in entertainment as a dancer and choreographer. She choreographed music videos for Atlantic Records and national tours for Disney and the WNBA. She was a red carpet on-camera host for Soultrain.com and BET.com. In 2016, Asha graduated from California State University, Long Beach. She completed her MFA Acting and Pedagogy degree with honors and a 4.0-grade point average. Asha lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, Dr. George Blankinship.