Karyn Parsons Rockwell (born October 8, 1966) is an American actress, author and comedian. She is best known for her role asHilary Banks on theNBCsitcomThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1990 to 1996. Parsons also starred in the 1995 filmMajor Payne oppositeDamon Wayans, and inThe Job (2001–2002) as Toni.

Karyn Parsons
Parsons in 2021
Born	Karen L. Parsons (1966-10-08)October 8, 1966 (age 58) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations	Actress author comedian
Years active	1987–2002 2019–present
Spouses	Randy Brooks ​ ​ (m. 1987;div. 1990)​ Alexandre Rockwell ​ ​ (m. 2003)​
Children	2

Parsons was born on October 8, 1966, inLos Angeles,California.^[1] In an interview forEssence in 2008, she described her parentage as biracial.^[2] Her mother, Louise (née Hankerson) Parsons, was an African-American fromCharleston, South Carolina, and her father, Kenneth B. Parsons, was of English and Welsh descent, fromButte, Montana. She attendedSanta Monica High School.^{[3][better source needed]}

Parsons starred asHilary Banks on the sitcomThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which aired onNBC from 1990 to 1996. She co-created, co-produced, co-wrote, and co-starred on theFox sitcomLush Life in 1996, which was later canceled after four episodes. In 2001, she starred in the critically acclaimed but short-lived television seriesThe Job withDenis Leary. Besides television, Parsons has starred in several films, particularly in comedies such asLate Nights (1992),Major Payne (1995), andThe Ladies Man (2000). Parsons is the founder of the Sweet Blackberry Foundation,^[4] which produces animated films and books about unsung black heroes. The first video in the series was aboutHenry Box Brown, aslave who mailed himself to freedom.^[5]

Parsons has also published three books for children: a middle-grade novel,How High the Moon (2019), which was loosely inspired by stories of her mother's childhood in theJim Crow South;^[6] and two Sweet Blackberry picture-book biographies about black historical figures, illustrated byR. Gregory Christie:Flying Free (2020) about pioneering aviatorBessie Coleman, andSaving the Day (2021) about inventorGarrett Morgan.

Parsons married directorAlexandre Rockwell in 2003.^[7] Together they have a daughter, Lana, and a son, Nico.^[8]

• How High the Moon (2019)
• Flying Free (2020)

• Karyn Parsons atIMDb
• Twitter Profile