Actress Sanaa Lathan covers the August/September 2015 issue of Uptown Magazine.

The cover, shot by famed photographer Derek Blanks, shows Lathan, 43, at her most sexy, flaunting curves and a fierceness that only a twenty year Hollywood veteran could embody.

As the superstar gears up for her latest film, The Perfect Guy (which hits theatres next month), she speaks with Uptown’s entertainment editor, Satchel B. Jester, in a feature story titled, “Scene by Sanaa,” where she reveals where she got her passion for acting as well as her family history in entertainment.

Check out more photos from Sanaa Lathan’s Uptown Magazine cover shoot + excerpts below…

On her destiny to act:

I was a toddler on Broadway, basically. My mom was in the original cast of The Wiz on Broadway. I was always around it, behind the scenes. My father is the first black director in TV. It gets no more in your face than that.

On family ties in business:

I’ve never worked with my father. A lot of people say that’s nepotism and part of the reason for my success.

On being a “real celebrity”:

I don’t feel like a celebrity until I’m doing interviews like this. I walk around in sweats. I’m not always hair and makeup ready, and I have real people around me. That’s the key.

You can’t help but stay in pocket, because real people don’t tolerate anything else.

On her next steps:

I am moving into the behind-the-scenes aspect now. When you’ve been in the business so long, you say to yourself, ‘I know how to do this’.

I know you can never say never, but I’ll never stop acting. I’ll just keep adding to what the word “performance” ultimately means to me.

Uptown Magazine’s August/September 2015 issue is available on news stands now.

What do you think of Sanaa Lathan’s Uptown feature spread?

Cover Story: Satchel B. Jester
Photography: Derek Blanks
Stylist: Ashley Sean Thomas
Hair: Kim Kimble
Make-Up: Saisha Beecham