California native Tamala Jones has developed a versatile background and has shown herself to be a film and television actor whose tremendous talent, comedic timing and commitment to the craft has resulted in memorable roles and iconic catchphrases over the course of her career.

After making her feature film debut at age 20 in the Universal film "How to Make an American Quilt" starring Wynona Ryder, Jones racked up television roles in the hit comedy series "The Wayans Bros.," "The Parent 'Hood" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," opposite rising star Will Smith. She also landed a recurring role on the medical juggernaut "ER," a performance that allowed the "funny girl" to show a more serious side and led to Jones being cast as a series regular on the ABC drama "Dangerous Minds." She became a household name after being cast in a more grown-up role as a divorcee on the ABC hit "For Your Love," showcasing a winning combination of irreverent moxie and surprising sweetness.

Best known for her role as Lanie Parish, a medical examiner with a say-it-like-it-is sarcastic sense of humor in the hit ABC series "Castle" that ran for eight seasons, Jones recently recurred on three hit series: alongside Rob Lowe and Liv Tyler in the Fox series "9-1-1: Lone Star," opposite Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba in the Spectrum Originals series "L.A.'s Finest" and in the CBS drama "Seal Team" with David Boreanaz.

On the feature side, she was recently seen in the Paramount Pictures film "What Men Want," opposite Taraji P. Henson and Tracy Morgan, a spinoff of the Nancy Meyers classic that starred Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt, and in the Netflix feature "Holiday Rush".

Black Men Magazine named her one of its 10 Sexiest Women of the Year two years in a row and Jones scored a spot on Maxim Magazine's 2004 coveted Hot 100 List. In 2011, Maxim Magazine again featured Jones in its popular celebrity photo layout, "Today's Girl," cementing her as one of Hollywood's enduring beauties.

Jones's other credits include the Oscar®-nominated film "Up in the Air" alongside George Clooney and Anna Kendrick; Ice Cube's "Next Friday" for New Line Cinema; Chris Rock's "Head of State" for DreamWorks; TriStar's comedy "Daddy Day Camp," opposite Cuba Gooding Jr.; portraying Tracy Morgan's wife in "The Tracy Morgan Show"; recurring on the hit NBC comedy "My Name is Earl"; the teen comedy "Can't Hardly Wait"; and "The Ladies Man" produced by Lorne Michaels (SNL).

Expanding her focus to behind the lens, Jones co-produced the independent movie "Nora's Hair Salon" and syndicated radio host Russ Parr's directorial debut "35 and Ticking (2011)," in which she also starred alongside Nicole Ari Parker, Keith Robinson and Wendy Raquel Robinson.