Tanika Ray joined "Extra" in August of 2004, and serves as the New York-based correspondent for the syndicated entertainment newsmagazine.

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Los Angeles, Ray knew at an early age that she wanted to be in the entertainment industry. She began her career as a dancer and actress, eventually landing roles on such TV shows as "NYPD Blue," "Lois & Clark," "Living Single," "Family Matters" and "Wayans Brothers."

Ray then shifted into television hosting, appearing on shows such as Nickelodeon's "The Big Help," where she traveled the country promoting charitable work among children, including rebuilding parks, planting trees, and making other contributions to various communities in need. Ray also starred as Cyber Lucy, the co-host of CBS's "Wheel of Fortune 2000," playing a motion-capture version of Vanna White, for which she was hooked up to a computer backstage as she worked in real time. Ray also filmed a Fox pilot called "Seacrest @ Night" in which she was featured as co-host to popular radio DJ and host of "American Idol," Ryan Seacrest. Other hosting responsibilities have included "Robotica" for TLC.

Most recently, Ray hosted Lifetime's "Head 2 Toe" and was the co-host of the talk magazine show, "Lifetime Now," where she dished about trends in entertainment, fashion, beauty and travel with actress Linda Dano. Ray has hosted "Soap News Update" and "Soap Center," both for the SOAPnet cable channel, and has also served as a regular member of the "Fashion Police" for Us Weekly's celebrity fashion feature. Additionally, Ray designs one-of-a-kind jewelry, mirrored after her own eclectic style.

Ray earned a bachelor of arts degree in theater arts from Spelman College in Atlanta, and studied theater at New York University.