If you’ve ever sat through a marathon of Friday or watched The Best Man for the hundredth time, you know Nia Long is basically Hollywood royalty. She’s the quintessential "girl next door" who somehow never ages. But there’s a piece of trivia that usually makes people’s jaws drop when it finally clicks: Nia Long has a sister who is just as famous, just as successful, and yet, they almost never appear in the same room.
So, who is Nia Long sister?
The answer is Sommore. Yes, that Sommore. The "Diva of Contemporary Comedy," the powerhouse from The Queens of Comedy, and the first woman to ever host BET’s ComicView.
It’s a wild realization because their "vibes" couldn't be more different. Nia is the polished, dramatic actress often cast as the romantic lead. Sommore is the raw, unapologetic, hilariously blunt stand-up comic who can command an arena of 50,000 people with a single joke about dating or money.
The Family Connection: A Tale of Two Cities
Technically, they are half-sisters. They share the same father, the late Doughtry "Doc" Long, who was a legendary poet and high school teacher in Trenton, New Jersey.
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But here’s the thing—they weren't exactly raised together in a "Full House" kind of way. Sommore, whose real name is Lori Ann Rambough, was born in 1966 and grew up in Trenton. Nia came along about four years later in 1970, born in Brooklyn to a different mother, Talita Long.
While Sommore was navigating the Jersey streets and eventually heading off to Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Nia was being raised primarily by her mother in Los Angeles. This geographic and familial split is a huge reason why most fans didn't even know they were related for years. Honestly, if you grew up on opposite coasts with different moms, you’d probably have a pretty distinct identity too.
Why They Don't Talk About Each Other
People love to hunt for drama. They see two successful Black women in the same industry who don't post "Sister Saturday" selfies and immediately assume there’s some massive, decade-long beef.
The truth is a bit more nuanced. Sommore has been pretty vocal in the past about why she doesn't shout her sister's name from the rooftops. In various interviews, she’s explained that she wanted to build her own legacy. She didn't want to be "Nia Long’s sister who tells jokes." She wanted to be Sommore.
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"I just wanted to be known for my own merit," she’s said in the past. It makes sense. In an industry that loves to put people in boxes, Sommore fought hard to be the "Queen of Comedy" on her own terms.
On Nia’s side, things were a bit more complicated regarding their father. Nia has been open about the fact that her relationship with Doughtry Long was strained. She felt he wasn't as present as she needed him to be during her childhood. Since Sommore spent more time around him in New Jersey, there’s naturally going to be a different perspective on family dynamics there. It’s not necessarily "beef"—it’s just life. Family is messy.
Two Different Paths to the Top
It’s actually kind of incredible how much they’ve both achieved without leaning on each other’s fame.
Sommore's Heavy Hitting Stats:
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- She broke records as part of The Queens of Comedy tour.
- She’s appeared in films like Friday After Next (playing Cookie) and Soul Plane.
- She was the first female host of ComicView.
- She has a business degree and has always treated her comedy career like a corporation.
Nia Long's Iconic Resume:
- Boyz n the Hood, Love Jones, Soul Food.
- A long-running stint on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as Will’s fiancée, Lisa.
- Multiple NAACP Image Awards.
- A career that has spanned over three decades without a single "off" year.
Are They "Close" Now?
In recent years, the frost—if there ever really was any—seems to have thawed, or at least the privacy has become less rigid. When their father passed away in 2020, it was a moment that forced a lot of reflection. Nia shared some emotional tributes to him, acknowledging his impact as a poet and a man, even while being honest about their distance.
You won't see them doing a reality show together anytime soon. That’s just not their style. They are both incredibly private women who value their "brand" and their personal peace. They’ve both navigated Hollywood—a place that isn't always kind to Black women—and come out on top.
If you’re looking for a silver lining, it’s this: they prove that talent clearly runs in the blood. Whether it's through the lens of a camera or a microphone on a stage, the Long/Rambough lineage knows how to captivate an audience.
What You Should Do Next
If you want to see the family resemblance for yourself, go back and watch Friday After Next. It’s one of the few places where their worlds collide (even if they don't share much screen time). You can also look up Doughtry Long’s poetry to see where both women got their gift for storytelling and language. Understanding their father's work gives you a much better picture of why one sister became a master of dramatic dialogue and the other a master of sharp, rhythmic punchlines.