The actress looks back at her time as Ashley Banks and the true family dynamic between her castmates NBCU Photo Bank/Getty (2) looks at her costars as family. Speaking with PEOPLE about her brand — a limited-edition series of handmade, heirloom-quality baby quilts that donates 100% of proceeds to Black and Indigenous midwives and doulas — the actress, 45, says the best memories from her time on the sitcom's set are those of laughing with castmates. "Our last season of the show, [Smith] had opened up his dressing room and knocked out a wall to create one big, beautiful dressing room out of two," Ali, who played Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom from 1990 to 1996, recalls.
"We all saw it when we came in early that year. We thought it was so beautiful. He looks at all of this.
As a gift to everybody in our final season, he introduced us to his designer and said, 'He designed this room. Work with him and design your own dressing room.' " "It included furniture and everything and I have to tell you, I'm sitting in my living room and I'm sitting on that couch," she reveals.
"And I'm looking at two chairs from that dressing room! I've since reupholstered that couch, but it's still my furniture today." HBO Max / Saeed Adyani Related: "That's kind of indicative of the memories. It wasn't the stuff, but the feelings," she adds.
"We just had so much fun. It was a great place to grow up. And I know, especially now, that's not everybody's story, .
But it was a really supportive environme.