Kyla Pratt

Kyla Alissa Pratt (born September 16, 1986 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress and musician. She is known for portraying as Marcella in the film Barney's Great Adventure, starring as the voice of Penny Proud in the first animated series for Disney Channel called The Proud Family, and as Breanna Latrice Barnes in UPN's One on One. After playing the daughter of Eddie Murphy's character in the films Dr. Dolittle and Dr. Dolittle 2, Pratt became the main character in the remake series of the franchise such as Dr. Dolittle 3, Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief, and Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts. Pratt has also been in the films Fat Albert, Hotel for Dogs, and The Proud Family Movie. She has also played in the series Let's Stay Together. She is currently a part of VH1's Black Ink Crew: Compton.

Personal Life

Kyla A. Pratt is the oldest of five children of Kecia Pratt, an actress, and Stacey Allen Morris, a mechanical engineer.

Pratt gave birth to a daughter, Lyric Kirkpatrick, on November 17, 2010. She gave birth to another daughter, Liyah Kirkpatrick, on August 5, 2013. Lyric and Liyah's father is Danny Kirkpatrick, a songwriter, hip-hop artist and tattoo artist.

Career

Acting career

Pratt began acting at age eight, appearing in commercials for an interactive computer game and Nike. In 1997, she appeared in an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger entitled "The Neighborhood", in which she portrayed Kyla Jarvis, a ten-year-old girl who miraculously recovers after accidentally being shot in a drive-by shooting in her gang-ridden neighborhood, and reveals that she saw heaven where she met a guardian angel who gives her an important mission from God. With Walker's help, Kyla Jarvis spreads the angel message of faith and love, uniting her local community into helping clean up their neighborhood and end the gang violence plaguing it. She appeared in an episode of Friends, followed by roles in Smart Guy, Sister, Sister, Family Matters, Lizzie McGuire, Moesha, and The Parkers.

In 2001, she won the role of Breanna Barnes in the UPN series One on One (2001–2006). During the run of One on One, Pratt also voiced Penny Proud, the lead character in the Disney Channel animated series The Proud Family. She also voiced the character for The Proud Family Movie in 2005. In addition to television roles, Pratt has appeared in several feature films, including Love & Basketball (2000) and Fat Albert (2004). She played Maya Dolittle in Dr. Dolittle (1998) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), both of which starred Eddie Murphy. She reprised her role as Maya Dolittle (now the lead character) in the direct-to-DVD releases of Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006), Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief (2008), and Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts (2009). In 2009, Kyla Pratt co-starred along Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin in Hotel for Dogs. Pratt joined the cast of BET's Let's Stay Together in its second season. In February 2014, Pratt was voted #97 on VH1's 100 Greatest Child Stars. In June 2014 she filmed a Freeform pilot called Recovery Road based on Blake Nelson's homonym novel, in which she plays a title role alongside Jessica Sula. The show debuted on Freeform in January 2016, but was cancelled shortly afterwards, in May 2016.

Singing career

As a member of the Disney Channel Circle of Stars, Pratt performed a cover version of "Circle of Life" that appeared on the DisneyMania 2 album. She also sang "It's All About Me", for the series soundtrack for The Proud Family. She sang "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" with the Disney Channel Stars. Kyla, also, sang in the 2019 Lifetime Christmas movie, "There's No Time Like Christmas."