Tatyana Ali
 
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  • Tatyana Ali, Willow Smith
  • Tatyana Ali visits the set of Access Hollywood Live on January 4, 2010

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  • Access Hollywood

    Tatyana Ali, Willow Smith

  • Access Hollywood

    Tatyana Ali visits the set of Access Hollywood Live on January 4, 2010

FIRST PUBLISHED: January 4, 2011 5:01 PM EST

LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

Tatyana Ali may be a little older than 10-year-old Willow Smith, but the former “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” beauty, now 31, is a big fan of Will Smith’s little girl.

“She is unbelievable,” Tatyana told Access Hollywood Live’s Billy Bush and Kit Hoover on Tuesday of Will Smith’s daughter. “Both Willow and Jaden.”

Tatyana admitted that Willow’s summer pop music smash is a song she embraced as her own.

“I love ‘Whip [My] Hair.’… Here I am, much older than her, but that was my anthem! It’s about confidence and self esteem,” Tatyana raved.

Tatyana had high praise for how Will and Jada have raised their kids.

“I think they’re so grounded, like they’re still children, but so talented and so unafraid and when you hear the things that their parents tell them, about being themselves and picking out what they want to wear, and expressing themselves — that’s something,” she said.

The actress said she’s not surprised to see that Will has turned into such a good father because he doted on her like she was his little sister when they filmed “Fresh Prince.”

“It’s actually kind of a natural because he’s a very nurturing person and he was definitely an older brother to me,” she said. “So it’s real natural… the way he is with his kids.”

Tatyana returns to her first television series since “Fresh Prince” – TV One’s “Love That Girl!” on Jan. 21, playing a divorcee who moves back to Southern California looking for a better life and love. In real life, Tatyana, a Harvard graduate, is also open to finding love.

“I’m kind of dating-ish, single-ish, just minding my P’s and Q’s and checking out all around,” Tatyana said when Billy asked about her love life.

“I don’t really get asked on dates very often,” she revealed. “I don’t know why that [is]. I’m kind of a homebody nowadays. Maybe I’m just not out mingling.”

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