Jada Koren Pinkett Smith
was born September 18, 1971, in Baltimore, Maryland to Robsol Pinkett, Jr., who runs a construction company, and Adrienne Banfield, the head nurse of an inner-city clinic in Baltimore. Her parents divorced after only several months of marriage and her mother has since re-married twice; Jada's mother became pregnant with her while still in high school. Jada majored in theatre at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where she met fellow classmate Tupac Shakur with whom she developed a close friendship. In the documentary Tupac: Resurrection, Shakur says,
"Jada is my heart. She will be my friend for my whole life." Also in this documentary, Jada calls Shakur
"one of my best friends. He was like a brother. It was beyond friendship for us. The type of relationship we had, you only get that once in a
lifetime." The two remained close friends until Shakur's death in 1996. After graduating from the Baltimore School for the Arts, Smith then spent a year at the North Carolina School of the Arts before dropping out to pursue her career in acting. Jada is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the oldest historically black collegiate sorority in the United States.
Jada'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. 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 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.
Jada is currently the vocalist for the nu 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 Donnington, UK as one of the first bands on the
Friday.
Jada married rapper/actor Will Smith on December 31, 1997, and together they had a son,
Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (b. July 8, 1998); and a daughter, Willow Camille Reign Smith (b. October 31, 2000). She is also stepmother to Smith's son from a previous marriage. Jada Pinkett Smith co-founded the
Will and Jada Foundation with her husband Will Smith. The foundation gives money towards youth educational projects and helps deprived children from inner cities and their families. In December 2006, Jada donated $1 million to the Baltimore School for the Arts, in memory of her friend and late rapper Tupac Shakur.
