Jada Koren Pinkett Smith is an American actress, screenwriter, producer, and talk show host. She is best known for her roles in A Different World, The Nutty Professor, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Gotham and Girls Trip.
She attended Baltimore's School of Arts at the same time as Tupac Shakur, where they became close friends. They made a video together at the amusement park King's Dominion, where they lip-synced to Will Smith's & DJ Jazzy Jeff's "Parents Just Don't Understand." Tupac acts like an MC, and Jada acts like a dancer.
In 2000, she was voted by the readers of Black Men Magazine as one of the 10 sexiest women of the year.
Has been with Will Smith since 1995, two years before their marriage.
She & Will opened a Planet Hollywood in her hometown, Baltimore on March 1998.
Has a stepson: Trey Smith (b. November 11, 1992) with husband, Will Smith.
Has 2 children: son, Jaden Smith (b. July 8, 1998) & daughter, Willow Smith (b. October 31, 2000) with husband, Will Smith.
As a child, she took piano, tap, and ballet classes.
Lead singer of the pop/rock band Wicked Wisdom. Wicked Wisdom is well-known for being both mainstream pop and brutal heavy metal.
Is part-owner of the skin-care line Carol's Daughter.
Has been good friends with Carrie-Anne Moss since the filming of The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).
Ironically auditioned for the role of future husband Will Smith's girlfriend, Lisa (played by Nia Long), on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990) but was told she was too short.
Is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
Attended the North Carolina School Of The Arts for one year but did not graduate because she left for California to pursue acting. She is a honorary Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority member.
Her father's family is African-American and her mother's family is Afro-Caribbean. Her maternal grandfather was from Barbados and her maternal grandmother's parents were from Jamaica.
Is in pre-production for the film version of Sister Souljah's novel "The Coldest Winter Ever," where she will serve as executive producer. [May 2005]
Touring the US with her heavy metal band Wicked Wisdom, promoting their first single "Something Inside of Me", which they also performed live on Late Show with David Letterman (1993) on Jan 25, 2006. [January 2006]
She and her husband, Will Smith, were both cast in DC comics projects in 2014 - Will as "Deadshot" in the film, Suicide Squad (2016) and Jada in the television show, Gotham (2014).
Is a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) and Angel (1999) along with husband Will Smith.
Received a Tony award nomination in 2010 for Best Musical as part of the producing team of "Fela!".
Portrayed by Kat Graham in All Eyez on Me (2017).
Friends with Queen Latifah, and Kenya Barris.
Jada first met lifelong friend and then fledgling rapper Queen Latifah in 1987 when she introduced her as the opening act for hip-hop group Public Enemy at Baltimore's Palladium club. Jada and Latifah were respectively 16 and 17-years-old at the time.
Suffers from thalassophobia (fear of sea, boats and sailing) and acrophobia (fear of heights).
Is passionate about oil painting in her spare time.
She once auditioned for, and landed, the role of Six LeMeure on the series Blossom (1990) but ultimately reneged because, at age 18, she felt she'd be miserable playing a 12-year-old girl. Within two weeks she landed the role of Lena James on A Different World (1987).
Is a self-professed comic book geek.
Auditioned unsuccessfully for a 'vocal' spot in The Lion King (1994).
Revealed on her Facebook talk show, Red Table Talk, that she was diagnosed with alopecia (hair loss). (May 2018).
Despite her fear of heights, Jada volunteered to perform her first skydive over Dubai for husband Will, his only birthday gift request of her for his 50th birthday celebration. Will celebrated his big day by bungee-jumping from a helicopter over the Grand Canyon just prior to Jada's plunge.
Her mother Adrienne Banfield-Jones went from being a teenage mom, through years of battling, and eventually kicking, a heroin addiction, to being a successful nurse and finally becoming co-host of Red Table Talk (2018) with her extended family.
Counts Girls Trip (2017) co-star MC Lyte as one of her closest friends.
She and Will Smith were married in Baltimore when he was on location shooting Enemy of the State (1998) for Tony Scott.
I just want pieces of the world" - in reference to her career
Will is a very interesting, unique man, and I'll tell you why. He makes love like a woman. He loves to touch, massage and feel. He makes love like he's in touch with himself, who he is. And he's a very sensual, incredible lovemaker.
[on the martial arts training for The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003)] "I saw Keanu (Reeves) sitting in a tub of ice. And I'm looking at him like 'You're in that for...' and he's looking at me like 'You'll know one day.'"
I think women who lead full lives are better mothers.
I don't get afraid in talking about subject matter that may spark controversy and I'm not afraid to not be liked. I think that sometimes people pay too much attention to being liked, and it's paralyzing.
[on meeting Tupac Shakur]There was a point in which we met and then we kind of were going our separate ways. And I just felt like, OK God, one day you're going to do for Pac what you did for me, which is you saved me. And that just never happened for him. And so that is something that I am constantly having to confront.
I know that most people wanna always connect us in this romance thing, but that's just because they don't have the story. But it was based in survival, how we held each other down, you know what I'm saying? And when we have somebody that has your back when you feel like you're nothing, that's everything.
Jada Pinkett Smith has managed to make a lot of headlines by divulging juicy details of her and husband Will's relationship.
The 50-year-old actress has been in a relationship with Will for almost three decades, and has said the pair are big believers in taking "accountability" and communicating, rather than expecting each other to "read minds.
Speaking during an episode of ‘Red Table Talk’ – where she was joined by her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, and guest star, Gwyneth Paltrow – she said: "It's hard. The thing Will and I talk about a lot is the journey. We started in this at a very young age, you know, 22 years old.
Jada’s comments come after Will, 53, recently said he and the ‘Girls Trip’ star give each other “trust and freedom” in their marriage.
He said: "We have given each other trust and freedom, with the belief that everybody has to find their own way. And marriage for us can't be a prison.
And I don't suggest our road for anybody. I don't suggest this road for anybody. But the experiences that the freedoms that we've given one another and the unconditional support, to me, is the highest definition of love."