Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith was born to Robson Pinkett Jr. and Adrienne Banfield in Baltimore, Maryland. Her father was a contractor and her mother was a nurse. They divorced after only a few months of marriage. She majored in dance and choreography at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where one of her classmates was Tupac Shakur. She spent a year at the North Carolina School of the Arts before dropping out to pursue her career in acting. Her big break came in 1991 when she was cast in the part of a college frosh on the television sitcom "A Different World" (1987). She made her feature film debut two years later in Menace II Society (1993). She did not gain widespread recognition, however, until her role opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996). In addition to being in front of the camera, she has spent time behind it directing music videos. She has also created Maja, a line of women's T-shirts and dresses that are mostly sold through small catalogs. Pinkett-Smith is married to Will Smith, and they have a son, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith; and a daughter, Willow Camille Reign Smith.

Career

Pinkett Smith's big break came in 1991 when she was cast in the part of college freshman Lena James on the NBC television sitcom A Different World, a spin-off of The Cosby Show.[1] She made her feature film debut two years later in Menace II Society (1993). She did not gain widespread recognition, however, until her role opposite Eddie Murphy in the remake of The Nutty Professor (1996). In 2001 she co-starred with her husband Will in the Academy Award nominated film Ali as the first wife of Cassius Clay. In 2003, she starred as Niobe in the Matrix series (Will Smith was originally considered for the role of Neo). In 2004 Pinkette also appeared in the film The Chronicles of Riddick along side Vin Diesel and Karl Urban In addition to being in front of the camera, she has spent time behind it, directing music videos. She has also created "Maja," a line of women's T-shirts and dresses that are mostly sold through small catalogs. In 2007, she starred in the Mike Binder film, Reign Over Me, also starring Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle.

Pinkett Smith is the vocalist for the metal band Wicked Wisdom, which released a self-titled debut album on February 21, 2006. The band also toured Ozzfest in the summer of 2005 as part of the second stage lineup. In 2006 the band played the Download Festival in Castle Donington, UK as one of the first bands on the Friday.